Storm God Revolution
by Kris-dragon
Summary: Sequel to Storm God Secrets. It's been a long while since Naruto left the Hidden Leaf Village. But now, there is a new threat on the horizon. One that targets everyone like him. Will Naruto trust his friends again to face this evil? And how much did he change? Who are the Akatsuki?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

"_Live may go on. But there is always something new that's about to begin in it" –Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage_

* * *

Dawn. The sun was rising above the horizon. But no one could see this magnificent sight. The rain clouds covered the sky. It wasn't a downpour, but it was still raining heavily. The river looked like a broken mirror because of it, despite the locals calling it the perfect mirror.

A lone figure ran along it. He was running at his top speed. He was running for nearly 30 minutes. His pursuers were tired. Not many were able to keep on running. Most of these guys were rogue ninja. They were not about to let this guy get away. But they had to admit it. That guy had a hell of stamina.

One guy released an arrow. He missed. The runaway kept running. He looked around to find of the ninja members preparing a jutsu. It was an earth jutsu. Before him there was a mud trap. He jumped over it. With his cloak on, the man looked like a bat. He landed on the branch and started to leap. He was not going to give up that easily. Two more arrows were shot at him. One hit him. He was furious now. That was a third one that hit him. Once he jumped, he turned in mid air and threw some kunai and shuriken. The gang took cover, allowing the man to increase the distance between them. He was now jumping from one stone to another, crossing the river.

"Hurry up, you idiots." A large man, who, in short, looked like a bear crossed with a gorilla ordered. "If he gets to the other side of the damn river we'll loose him."

The earth style user made another attempt, signaling the bowman to fire. The missile flew. It didn't hit the man. But it distracted him.

And that's all he needed.

"Earth Style: Monkey King's Prison!" he called. Soon enough, the man found his limbs caught in two pillars. He struggled a bit, but couldn't get free.

"We caught him!" one of the men shouted happily. "We finally caught that son of a b***h!"

"Now let's collect ourselves that bounty for your head." The boss said, hitting the man in the face. "Get the wagon here!" he ordered.

Far in the distance there was a storm. Something told the runaway that this merely the sign. Soon, something terrible was about to happen.

* * *

**A./N.:** So begins the new arc. I'll try to write it better than the previous fics. Wish me some luck, you guys. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 1 Reintroductions

**Chapter 1**

**Re-introductions**

* * *

"_As time passes, all things are bound to change. That is the way of the universe."- Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage_

* * *

The Hidden Leaf Village was filled with laughter and joy. The villagers were still enjoying themselves after the party Lady Tsunade, their Fifth Hokage, held. The children were playing ninja, wanting to join the academy one day. Some of the students were even joining the kids, giving them some tips. A few elderly men decided to just sit outside and relax in the sun, feeling its warmth. None would ever believe the village was ever attacked.

But not everyone was this happy. A certain 19-year-old girl was resting in the hot spring on her last day off. She was wondering about someone. Where was he? Was he alright? These questions were running through her head. She moved her pink hair out of her eyes. Maybe she was having too much relaxation.

"Oh, hi, Sakura!" a familiar voice greeted her. "Long time no see!"

Sakura turned around to see the person who addressed her. It was a familiar girl with long, platinum-blonde hair and pupil-less blue eyes. "Ino? What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? Like, can't a girl have some R&R time?" Ino asked.

"That's not what I meant…" the pink-hair tried to make herself clear, when Ino started laughing.

"I'm just joking, Sakura. I just got back from the mission and thought I'll come here." The Yamanaka girl said. Sakura giggled.

"So that's it, huh?" Sakura thought loudly, jumping onto her friend. "Why you little…!" two were having a friendly fight. The people outside decided to ignore that.

* * *

**Later**

Sakura was on her way to the Hokage Tower. She decided to talk with Tsunade. She wanted to know about her possible assignment beforehand. She looked around, watching the families laughing and eating. She smiled. This was a happy view. Then a cat ran her path. Before she knew it, a team followed… or rather ran into her. The four people fell into a pile.

"What the heck?" Sakura screeched. Then she took a look at the group who fell into her. It was a bunch of genin. "What are you doing, genin?"

"I'm sorry about this, Sakura." Someone apologized. When Haruno looked up she noticed three familiar faces.

The first person to show up was Rock Lee. Dressed in the same fashion as always- green spandex tights, orange leg warmers, a chunin vest and orange wrist warmers, which were likely the same as those on his legs- with weights.

The person behind him was Neji Hyuga. The man wore a brown robe with the Hyuga crest on the back over a black dogi shirt with the sleeves loosely hanging. In addition he wore black ninja sandals. His long hair was tied in a braid. He also wore a necklace.

The last person to appear was Tenten, who still dressed in a Chinese fashion. She wore a Red-and-black, short sleeved blouse and red pants. She also sported four scrolls on her.

"Lee, Neji, Tenten? Don't tell me these kids are your team." Sakura asked.

"They're not really our team." Lee explained. "Their sensei is simply out on a mission, so we were asked to look after them for a few days." The thick eye-browed guy explained.

"And we just tagged along to make sure Lee doesn't get them to do something crazy again." Tenten said. "You do remember the last time, don't you?"

Sakura paled, seeing toilet seats again.

"Y-yeah… please don't remind me of that." She asked.

"But it wasn't all that bad. Everyone had their food prepared." Lee said, getting himself hit by his female team-mate.

"And we all ended up with diarrhea for two days!" she shouted.

"The problem is Guy-sensei thought Lee could use some more experience with the younger comrades." Neji got back to the topic. "And you…?"

"I'm heading to see Lady Tsunade. I thought I might get to know what the next assignment might be." Sakura explained.

"Then you're getting ahead of yourself, Sakura." A bored voice told her. She knew only one person who could talk like that.

"What are you suggesting, Shikamaru?" She asked the man with a head like a pineapple.

"I'm just saying. If there were any news about any of them, we would've heard about it."

"Well, maybe I like to think the news will be fresh, you skeptical moron." She barked.

"It's nice to be optimistic, Sakura." Choji, who was accompanying Shikamaru, commented. "But sometimes you have to accept the fact that you can't always hear the good news.

Sakura's head dropped. They may be right. But she needed to hope. There was always hope. She looked at the Hokage Monument, at the carving of the Fifth. Lady Tsunade didn't give up herself. So she won't as well.

* * *

**The Hokage Tower**

Sakura was slowly approaching the door to the hokage's office. She had some fun with her friends, but she really wanted to know about the assignments. She got closer to the door and heard someone talking with the Hokage.

"In short: we now know about the bandits in that area. Is that right?" Tsunade asked. Sakura decided to take a peek.

"That would be right, ma'am." A woman in a tan trench coat replied. And judging by the purple hair in a spiky pony-tail, it had to be Anko Mitarashi. Sakura knew that if she was here, than she had something from the Torture & Interrogation Department, where she started working under the tutelage of Ibiki Morino.

That actually fitted the crazy, hyperactive girl.

"Lady Tsunade! I'll gladly take the mission of taking them down." The man next to Anko said. The guy wore a black leather coat and a black bandana covering his hair. "I need some exercise."

"Very well, Ryu." Tsunade agreed. "Still, you will not go on the mission alone. I'll assign you at least two more people to your team."

"*sigh* Very well. Just please do get me Raido. The guy seems off lately." Ryu said.

"Report in at 0700 hours. Dismiss." She commanded. As the two were leaving… "And you may enter, Sakura."

Sakura freaked out for a moment. Since when did Tsunade know she was there? She entered with a red face into the office, while Ryu and Anko left.

"So what brings you here, Sakura?" the Fifth Hokage asked.

"Well, I was wondering if I could know about the assignment." The pink haired girl answered.

"It's nothing great, unfortunately. Just delivering a scroll." Tsunade said.

"Well if that's all, than it can't be all that bad." She said loudly with a smile. Although '_Is that it? Are you kidding me or something? What a Lame mission!_' Her inner persona commented.

"Glad to hear it. The scroll must be delivered to the Hidden Sand Village. So I suggest you take a good rest. Kakashi will be waiting for you at the north gate at 0800 hours."

"So I'd better get there at 11 in the morning." Sakura murmured.

"Don't worry. I'll make him get his ass there in time." Tsunade said with a dark smile. "You're dismissed."

Sakura bowed and left. She wondered how things in the Hidden Sand were.

* * *

**Hidden Sand Village**

Dust and smoke was everywhere. The people were screaming, panicking. The ninja were searching for casualties, seeing to the wounded. The entrance to the village was in rubble. That and mined. It was hell now. Far in the distance, two cloaked men with a huge bird at their side were looking at the scene.

"You're making me wait again, Deidara." The shorter of the two said with a harsh, impatient voice. The man with long blonde hair tied in a pony tail looked at him.

"Well, I refuse to leave just yet, Sasori, hn." Deidara replied. "I want to enjoy the view just for a few more seconds, hn."

"You know that this blockade in the canyon won't hold them back forever. If they're at it right now, then by dawn they might just remove the rubble."

Deidara looking to at the moon. "Yeah, maybe. But then we'll be long gone. I lost my right arm, but hey, mission accomplished, hn." He looked at the bird, which was a huge clay figurine. A human hand was hanging out of its beak. "The jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Raccoon-dog has been captured. So my art is epic once more." He reached out his hand into the sky, opening the mouth in the palm. That mouth showed several small teeth as well as a thick though short tongue, licking his palm.

"Quit calling your short-lived explosions art and move it. You're making the leader wait." Sasori, who was already some distance away, ordered.

"Hey, wait a minute, Sasori! Hold up!" The blonde chased after him.

* * *

**Hidden Leaf Village, Sakura's house**

The pink hair was sleeping soundly. Her room slightly illuminated by the first rays of light. She rolled over to the other side. She started giggling, drooling. Then she started murmuring. "No, Sasuke. You can't strip me here. People are watching."

"Then take it elsewhere." A voice recommended.

"We'll do just that…" she paused. Then she woke up with a scream, foaming. Kakashi was sitting behind the window. "Kakashi-sensei? How long were you sitting there?" She asked covering herself, despite she was in her pajamas.

"Just got here to hear about your romantic fantasies." The silver haired man answered, making the girl get whole red. "Jokes aside. Get dressed and get to Lady Tsunade's office. We've got an emergency." He instructed her with a serious voice.

Sakura knew well enough by now that if Kakashi ever acted serious it WAS an emergency situation.

* * *

**Hokage Tower**

"WHAT? The Kazekage got kidnapped?" Sakura screeched.

"Unfortunately that is the massage from the Sand Village." Tsunade confirmed with a concerned look. "So I'm sending you and Kakashi to investigate and help the village in any way possible. Hidodama will be on your team for this one."

"Wait a minute. Why one of the enforcers?"

"Because these Akatsuki are no joke, girly." The female member of the Enforcers entered. The woman was wearing a kusari under a white top, black wrist warmers with fingerless gloves, and black trousers. The one thing that Sakura couldn't understand about this brown haired woman was the fact she was walking barefoot. She didn't understand her taijutsu style required that. The woman fixed her shoulder long hair, which were getting in her eye. "These guys consist of S-rank rogue ninja. Each of them is considered so dangerous that even our unit needs to take caution. And that's the least you'd expect from people who hunt people like Lord Gaara… and Naruto."

The minute Hidodama mentioned Naruto's name, it perked her interest. "What do you mean?"

"You know already that Naruto has the Nine-tailed Fox sealed inside of him." Kakashi started to explain. "Gaara has the One-Tailed Raccoon-dog sealed inside. So the Akatsuki are after them."

"There is another thing." The enforcer added. "Since it's them, we'd better consider Itachi Uchiha's appearance."

"You're right. We'd better consider that possibility." Kakashi agreed. Sakura was confused. She didn't know this Itachi person. She always thought Sasuke was the last Uchiha alive.

"You'd better get going now." Tsunade suggested. "And since Temari left the village yesterday morning, You might wanna pick her up and tell her the news."

"Yes ma'am." The team responded and moved out.

* * *

**Elsewhere**

The group of bounty hunters was still cheering after the other day's success. They finally caught their hands on the big catch. Now all they needed to do is cross the border and they'd get the money in the first town they come across. Two men who were pulling the wagon didn't complain about their work just because they thought about the payment they would receive. Soon they came across a small house by the road, with a sole guardsman watching them. He fixed his armor and apparently called for the rest. In a matter seconds, there were five more men on the road. The gorilla-like man stopped his gang and approached the one who looked like in-charge.

"State your business." The commander demanded.

"We're transporting a bandit, sir." The boss said, pointing at the wagon. The commander raised his eye brow and walked over to check it out.

"Just who are you transporting, exactly?"

"You recall the incident in the capital of Tea Country, right?"

"You mean when the whole district got destroyed along with the mafia ruling there? Yeah, I recall. The damage was so great the man, while believed to be a hero by civilians, is a wanted criminal for endangering that priestess, um… What was her name? Shion?"

"Whatever. That's the guy."

"Then we'll just need to get the formalities and you can pass."

The two authority figures entered the house. While they were attending to the paperwork, their underlings where sharing gossips.

"And then she said: That's no jutsu. That's my fart." Two men started laughing.

"Then this healer with his apprentice healed the old man and moved on, smiling as always to the…"

"… added some pepper to her soup. The mother-in-law had what she deserved. Of course he…"

"And did hear the latest news? They say the kazekage got kidnapped." One of the guards said. Now that caught the runaway's attention.

"You serious? That can't be." One of the man's captures refused to believe it.

"It's true. Really."

"But who could've done that?"

"Some guys, you know… the ones everyone's been whispering about. The ninja in particular. The guys in black cloaks with…"

"The red cloud on it?"

"Yeah, them."

The man were about to continue, when the wagon suddenly shook. They wouldn't mind it normally. But this time it was more intense. Soon everyone gathered were wondering what's going on in there. Did the guy go insane? Apparently so since one of the men guarding him flew out through the wagon's wall. The other flew out through the roof. The runaway jumped out of the wagon and engaged them men in a fight.

Five men tried to dog pile him, but the guy was seeing it coming and roundhouse kicked them away. Two guardsmen charged with their swords drawn. They thought they had the upper hand. No one would dare to fight an armed and armored opponent.

They were wrong. The man moved with blinding speed and caught them by their throats, throwing them high into the air. He turned around to see two guys running at him. One had his ninja pouch and a kunai holder, while the other had a crystal necklace on. The man elbowed them both, swiftly taking away what his saw in their possession.

"These are mine, scum." He told them, lazily pushing them down.

The guard commander and the boss walked out of the house, congratulating each other. They were about to tell their men to stop fighting with each other, when facts hit their eyes. Everyone was beaten up. The runaway looked at them. The two looked at each other, then at him. They attacked. The guardsman-in-charge got punched in the face and send flying at the bear-man, who barely dodged him. He made a few hand signs.

"Earth Style: Avalanche!" He called. A huge wave of earth launched at his bounty. He smiled, until he felt a kunai on his throat.

"I wouldn't think about it if I were you." The man advised. The gorilla-bear-guy, obviously, didn't listen. He tried to hit the runaway, but missed. Then he suddenly fell unconscious. The runaway clapped his hand after a well done job. "Warned you. Although I failed to learn that. I still do." He said. Then he turned to find the last guardsman standing. The man could tell that this guard must've been a rookie, who still hasn't seen action like this before. He walked over to him.

"You… when did the Hidden Sand got attacked?" he asked. The man's deep voice seemed threatening. The guardsman was sweating in fear. Never before has he seen such power. He never even thought anyone could be this strong. Was this guy a ninja? Are ninja really this strong? He thought it was just an exaggeration. He wanted to pull out his sword as tears started running from his eyes. "Don't do this." He warned the rookie. "I have no intention of hurting you. Don't get yourself into something way above you." He advised.

"I… I… The attack is rumored to have taken place two days ago." The guardsman said.

The runaway nodded. "Which way to the Wind Country?"

"Go east from here." The rookie pointed. "The huge, red field is the border. I believe the Hidden Sand… will be the… lone rock on the horizon, north-east from the field." He added.

The guy leaped away in the given direction. He just hoped he would make it in time.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**A/N: **Another chapter ready. Let me know what you think. See you.


	3. Chapter 2 In the sand

**Chapter 2**

**In the sand**

"_No matter how strong we are friends can always make us stronger. They make up for our flaws, as we make up for theirs. It's always good to have friends to watch our back._"- Kakashi Hatake

The three Leaf ninja were leaping like crazy, following the lead of the Sand kunoichi with four pigtails- Temari. Finding the woman was quiet easy, considering she was walking along the road. She was shocked to hear the news about her youngest brother being taken captive by the Akatsuki. But then the shock turned to anger. She was relentlessly chasing to the Hidden Sand, wanting to learn more details and save Gaara.

Sakura had a few questions about the situation. Kakashi answered all he could. She felt sorry for Naruto when she learned about Nine-tails being sealed inside him 5 years ago. To learn that there were rogue ninja after him for that- it pained her. That is… the villagers looking at him with hate were bad enough, considering his subhuman complex, but the organization that actually looked at him like an animal or worse? And to hear about Itachi was another problem- the man, who killed his entire clan, leaving only his little brother alive. How could it be that these two were suffering by one man? How is it that both Naruto and Sasuke have to suffer just for being born? She really was just a stupid girl back in the past after all. She needed to make it right. She needed to find Naruto and Sasuke. Although, while there were news about Naruto last heard three years ago, there was still nothing about Sasuke's whereabouts. If that's the case, then finding Naruto would come first.

After a total of two days travel, the group finally reached the wall of the Hidden Sand. The passage was mostly cleared, but they still needed an escort through. The shinobi were still uncertain how save it was. Temari looked around and couldn't believe how many were injured. She wanted to reach for her fan and help. But then again she could be putting them in danger. She decided not to act. But it wasn't like she wouldn't do something.

* * *

**Kazekage Tower**

"This is no use." An elderly woman said. "This poison is a new type. I can't neutralize it."

"But you have to, Lady Chiyo!" Kankuro said through pain. "Otherwise he'll die."

"I know that, lad. But still…" Chiyo wondered. She was known as a poison specialist back in her younger days. Her poisons and drugs were actually so deadly that no one has ever survived. She was the pride of the village. That is until Tsunade entered the battlefield. The princess was able to counter every single poison Chiyo made.

Of course every poison maker also needed to have the knowledge how to counter it themselves. It was a failsafe. However, Elder Chiyo had no idea on how to counter this poison. Whoever made it was real good. And the man she was treating seemed to know who it was. Kankuro risked his life to save him from the blast, but couldn't learn the Akatsuki member's identity. If they were to learn anything that might help find Gaara, it was this man.

"I can't counter the poison. Whoever made it knew what's he, or she, doing." Chiyo said with regret. Kankuro's head dropped. He needed something to go and save his little brother.

The door soon opened, revealing four people waiting on the other side.

"Elder Chiyo?" Temari was wide eyed. "I never thought you'd actually move from your home. Are you no longer retiring?"

"Well, you younglings clearly can't handle things without me keeping an eye on you. Honestly. In my days…" the elder wanted to keep going, when she saw the Leaf ninja. Her eyes hardened. Truth to be told she hated the renewed alliance. She believed it to cause more harm. Then her eyes focused Kakashi… and she released her killer intent.

"YOU…!" She shouted, dashing at the man. The silver haired jonin was confused with the situation. "HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOURSELF HERE, WHITE FANG?" she tried to attack him. Luckily, Temari and Kankuro managed to stop her, while Sakura and Hitodama prepared to fight her.

Kakashi's eye widened. So this woman knew his father. But did he really resemble him that much? The man putted that thought aside seeing how mad the woman was.

"Lady Chiyo, please calm down." Temari begged.

"Calm down, sister." Another elderly voice said. It belonged to a man with a big head. The man approached her. "Can't you see? This is not the White Fang." At the sound of that, Chiyo froze. Then she took a closer look at Kakashi. It took a while, but she finally calmed down, with the face of regret. Whatever the story was, Kakashi decided not to ask.

"Who is that?" Hitodama asked with curiosity on her face, pointing at the poisoned man.

"This guy has seen one of the Akatsuki members." Kankuro answered. "The man seemed serious about killing him, as if he was known to us. But the poison prevents him from talking."

"I tried to counter the poison, but I just can't. The best I could do is slow it down." Chiyo explained with shame.

Sakura ran over to the man and examined him immediately. Her hands were engulfed in green light, as she ran them over the Sand ninja. Everyone sat quiet, waiting for the diagnosis.

"Bring me two buckets. One filled with water. Now." She instructed.

"You heard her. Move it." Kankuro commanded the two chunin in the room.

Temari looked at the elder woman, who had a skeptical look on her face. "It'll be alright. Sakura is the apprentice of Lady Tsunade." She explained. Chiyo's eyes showed frustration.

"So we now have help from the Slug Princess's little student, eh? How ironic. Our enemy is here to help." She commented.

"Lady Chiyo, we are not at war with the Hidden Leaf for years now." Temari explained.

"You are being too naïve, child." Chiyo commented, walking to the window.

The Sand chunin finally arrived with the buckets. When Sakura started the treatment, everyone in the room was amazed by her performance. The pink haired medic took some water with her hands, making it look like a bubble, ready to fall, and pressed it against the man. The water seemed to soak into the man's body. He winced a bit in pain and discomfort. After a minute or so, Sakura pulled the water out. Now it was purple. Now it was clear as to what she was doing: filtering his organism. She was pulling out all the toxins out of the Sand ninja. She threw the polluted water into the empty bucket and reached for more of the clear one. And she repeated that for a while, having someone bring some more water. After about half an hour, Sakura backed from the man, taking a breather.

"Well…?" Temari asked.

"I managed to remove the poison." She said. Then she continued before anyone could start cheering. "But he's still affected. Unless we can make an antidote, he will remain comatose… or die."

"So it was all for nothing." The elder commented.

"Not at all. With the poison removed we have more time." Sakura explained. "There is nothing to spread, but his body still needs a cure."

"In other words you removed the source but the problem still remains, right?" Kankuro asked a bit confused. It wasn't like he didn't understand anything, but wanted to be sure he followed.

"Right." Sakura replied. "Could I see some herbs?" she asked.

"I'll take you to the greenhouse." The puppeteer ninja said, letting the young medic to follow.

As the two left, Kakashi took a closer look at the unconscious chunin. They really needed something to go on. Then the jonin noticed something under the man's nail. As he took a closer look at it, he saw it was a piece of clothing. How could they have missed it? He summoned Pakkun, one of his dogs, after he removed the trial.

"Yo, Kakashi." The dog greeted. "Why'd you call me?"

"Pakkun. We're in crisis here. Think you can think you can track down someone by this?" the jonin asked, showing his summon the piece. The dog took a closer look at it at smelled it. It seemed to last long.

"It's faint. I mean very faint. That piece is a bit too small. Wait a second. I think I do smell someone other than this man here." Pakkun said.

"You can track him?"

"I'll try." He said.

"Then go." Kakashi ordered. And the dog ran out like a bullet.

* * *

**Unknown location**

The two Akatsuki members were walking along the cliff. Looking down there were thick roots joining the two sides like bridges. As they walked, they finally noticed their destination- a huge boulder with a tag. They nodded to each other and jumped down. Deidara made a few hand seals before pressing the boulder. It glowed and then lifted opening an entrance. Wasting no time, he and his partner entered. As the entrance closed, a shadowy figure appeared before them. The astral projection opened its eyes.

"You're late." It said with voice filled with power.

"Forgive us, leader, but Deidara was slacking." Sasori explained.

Deidara, of course, didn't like it. "Liar! We were late because you got spotted. Besides, it's not like you fought a jinchuriki, hn. So don't comment a fight unless you know how tough the opponent is, hn."

"It would've been easier if you were to stop calling your explosions art." Sasori talked back.

"But it is art. Art is a flash in darkness, hn. Something that reaches you in seconds. That illuminates you, hn."

"How can you call this art when no one can admire…"

"Enough!" leader roared. "We're wasting time. Prepare the jinchuriki for sealing."

"Yes, leader." Both Sasori and Deidara said.

The projection of the leader faded away, as the ground shook. In a matter of seconds, the earth opened, allowing a huge statue to emerge. The statue looked like a man with tied eyes, though it was more demonic in appearance. When its head came forth, hands appeared, shackled, making it look as if begging. The blond member of the Akatsuki looked at the clay bird, making it release the prize- Gaara. The red haired man was still unconscious. The two men jumped up to the statue's fingers. Then more astral projections appeared on the other fingers.

"Be ready." Leader said. "Once we start the sealing, it will take 3 days to complete it. And we cannot allow ourselves to be interrupted."

"Agreed." One voice said, looking at the projection of a man with a flytrap on its shoulders. "This is why I suggest Zetsu to keep on a look out. With all of us here, we can take this a bit lightly."

"Just don't take it too lightly." Leader commanded. Zetsu nodded. "Let us begin." Everyone began to make hand seals. At the final one: "Sealing Arts: Phantom Dragons Devour Sealing!"

The statue's mouth opened. A faint light was coming from it. A light that was very disturbing. No matter what, the Akatsuki could feel cold on their spin. They all had shivers. Then nine dragons made of chakra shot out, flying around the cave, as if trying to free themselves from the structure. The sight was somewhat magnificent. They were like vultures flying over the prey. The roar echoed throughout the cave making it look as if these were real dragons, not a jutsu. After a minute or two, they launched at the jinchuriki on the ground. Gaara cried in pain. He was engulfed in a blue bubble of light connected to the statue. As he screamed, an orange chakra was coming out of his mouth and being sucked into the statue. The Akatsuki remained in their positions. Now it was only a matter of time. In three days One-tails will be sealed.

* * *

**Hidden Sand Village, Kazekage Tower**

It was night already. The people were already going home to rest. The next day they would return to work. There was still a lot to do. Sakura just gave a shot to the poisoned man, satisfied with the results.

"It's not that great but he'll live." Sakura said. "Tomorrow he should be conscious."

"Then we'll know who dared to poison Baki-sensei." Temari said with fire in her eyes. Kankuro actually stepped back from her.

"And what about that dog you sent earlier, son of the White Fang?" Chiyo asked. "Any news?"

"Nothing good really." Kakashi admitted. "That piece of clothing was too small. Pakkun couldn't get anything."

"Then Baki-sensei is our only hope." Kankuro said. They just hoped he would wake up in time.

* * *

**Hidden Leaf Village, Hokage Tower**

"As you know Kakashi with the team are in the Hidden Sand Village, which was attacked by the Akatsuki." Tsunade said to the gathered party. She turned around to the window, looking at the moon. It was golden tonight. Somehow it made her feel the chills. Then she got back to business. "However, considering this is the Akatsuki we're talking about, I've decided to send you guys as support. You guy should be able to handle the situation well. Am I right?"

The team leader smiled, taking a nice-guy pose. "Of course, Lady Tsunade! Our Flames of Youth shall quarantine a mission success!" Guy said.

* * *

**Hidden Sand Village, Kazekage Tower**

Morning. The group has gathered around Baki, the man with half his face covered seemed to try and open his eyes. When the group entered the room and saw that, they were amazed- especially Sakura. She wasn't really certain if the antidote would've truly worked when she administrated it. Luckily, it worked better than she thought. Lady Chiyo, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. On one hand she was mad because the young Leaf medic was able to counter the poison she wasn't able to. This hit her pride the same as when Tsunade countered her every poison. But on the other hand she was glad because the Sand ninja would live. That and could share the information about the Kazekage kidnapper's partner's identity.

"Baki-sensei, are you awake? Can you talk?" Kankuro asked. The man seemed to struggle.

"Y-yes, Kan-kuro." Baki answered.

Then Temari pushed everyone aside with a mean look on her face. ""Baki-sensei! Focus! The men who poisoned you! Who was he? Do you know?" She said loudly but slowly. She wanted to be certain he follows. She wasn't as emotionally unstable right now. She knew that Baki should be still resting. But time was of the essence. They needed to rescue Gaara.

"The… man. It was… it was…" Baki tried to speak, clearly losing consciousness.

"Yes?" Kankuro asked.

"M-m-mas-ter… Saso-ri…" he gasped before going out cold.

"Sasori? Who's that?" Sakura asked confused.

"Sasori of the Red Sand." Hitodama said, more to herself. "I heard that name. One of the greatest puppeteer ninja of the Hidden Sand. I thought he died in his madness of trying to create a perfect puppet."

"Then your knowledge is based more on rumors rather than facts." Chiyo commented. "Sasori was a great puppeteer, indeed. Not only has he mastered the art of a puppeteer but also changed it to the form we use now a day. He was also the creator of many puppets we use nowadays."

"You seem to know him quite well, Lady Chiyo." Temari observed.

Then Chiyo's head dropped in shame. "That's because… I was the one to teach him. Both in arts of puppeteer and poison making. And he did not die as rumors say. Indeed, he was working on creating a perfect puppet. But after a few experiments, which left him scarred, more on his pride than body, he left the village. I do not truly understand the reason to this day, but I respect it."

"How come?" Kankuro asked.

"Now is not the time for questions like this, boy." The elder yelled. Then she calmed down. "If Sasori is part of the Akatsuki, then I think I know where they could take Gaara."

"Where?" every one asked at the same time.

"Sasori liked to train a lot. He had a hideout outside the village, by the borders with Fog Country.

"Fog Country?" Kakashi made sure if he heard that right. "Then it's near the Hidden Rain Village. We'll need to move cautiously." He suggested.

"I'm going with you, guys." Temari said, preparing her fan. "There's no way I'm letting my little brother's kidnappers get away without me hurting them."

"Then I'll tag along." Kankuro said. "I wanna fight with Master Sasori."

"You cannot." Chiyo stood in front of him. "Someone needs to stay here and make sure that the villagers are kept in their places. I'll go."

"But Lady Chiyo… this isn't a good idea. You're old… I mean, er, um… you, I mean, we can't risk having you hurt."

"I may be old, child, but I've still got some strength left in me to fight. I was Sasori's teacher and it has to be me to take him out. You wouldn't last long. Besides, I know where exactly his hideout is located. Without me you might be looking for it for days."

The team from the Leaf Village looked at each other. Kakashi sighed. "I don't suppose we have any other option. Do we?"

"We're wasting time here." The female enforcer commented with an annoyed look. "The fossil had better not slow us down, 'because I refuse to wait up for or carry her."

"Don't worry about me, girl. I wouldn't be volunteering on this one unless I'm certain I can carry my own weight." Chiyo talked back.

"Well then, how about we FINALLY GET GOING?" Temari 'suggested' with the glare that promised death. The group nodded in agreement and followed her to the exit. Kankuro and the Chiyo's brother both sighed heavily.

* * *

**Later…**

The group was moving fast, following Chiyo. Despite her age, she was fast. And it appeared she really did have things to settle with this Sasori guy. As they moved, none have noticed a face growing out of the tree. A face with yellow eyes. Its eyes hardened the glare.

* * *

"We seem to have a problem, Leader." Zetsu said, interrupting the unending scream of agony echoing throughout the cave. "It would someone's heading this way."

"Who?" Leader asked.

"A team from the Sand Village. They seem to be ninja from the Leaf. Kakashi Hatake is amongst them. And some old hag as well."

"Granny Chiyo?" Sasori asked in amusement. "Never thought she'd actually move her ass again."

"**There's also one more group coming. This one's from the Leaf Village. Likely a backup.**" Black Zetsu commented. "**It's Might Guy's Team.**"

"Guy, you say?" Kisame asked. "Then allow me to engage them. I owe him for kicking me in the face all these years ago."

"In this case I'll handle Kakashi. Considering he has the sharingan I'm a perfect opponent for him." Itachi reasoned.

"Very well." Leader agreed. "However do not use more than 30% of your power. We still need to seal One-tail."

"Roger." Kisame replied.

"Understood." Itachi acknowledged.

* * *

**The desert**

Team Guy has just exited the forest. Now they needed to travel through the dessert. They knew the travel would be difficult given the heat. But no matter what they needed to hurry. That's when Guy noticed a messenger hawk. It flew high above them, yet it saw them. It seems it was supposed to deliver the massage to the Leaf ninja. As soon as they read the message, the team change course. They were wasting no time. A friend was in need. Though Tenten wanted to complain about Guy and Lee's determination, she had to admit the situation indeed needed them to make haste.

Then Neji's danger sense kicked in. Something was wrong. But what.

He activated his byakugan, covering his face on the height of his eyes in veins.

* * *

**The forest**

The team reached the clearing. They considered taking a short break, when they all heard someone's voice.

* * *

"Guy-sensei!" Neji called. "Behind us!"

Guy caught the message and gestured to hold. As Team Guy stopped, they saw something rise from beneath the sand. It looked like a shark's fin. As it got near them, it sank again. It confused everyone.

Then an explosion took place. A high pillar of sand provided some shadow for the team, who managed to dodge at the last moment. As the cloud fell there was a big guy with a sword standing.

"It's been a while. Hasn't it, Green Beast?" the blue skinned man with shark-like teeth said, smiling.

* * *

"It has been a while, Kakashi." A stoic voice with no trace of emotions greeted. Everyone looked in the direction from where the wards came. A shadow was coming out of the bushes, only looking at them with red, blazing eyes. As the man came out, Sakura shivered seeing these familiar, rotating eyes. These crimson yet strong blazing eyes with three tomoes that just wouldn't stop rotating.

"So we ran into you after all, Itachi Uchiha." Kakashi commented, taking the stance.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**A/N: **Another chapter. Hope you'll like it. I was thinking about making an omake, but sadly I couldn't come up with anything. Maybe next time. Ja ne.


	4. Chapter 3 The crow and the shark return

**Chapter 3**

**The crow and the shark return**

"_If power terrify people, then just how terrifying are the ones who wield such power?_"- Jiraiya

As the wind blew, blowing away the fallen leafs and dust through the field, Itachi was just standing, looking at the team before him. He seemed so hollow, lifeless. Yet powerful at the same time he was. Sakura was having a hard time hiding her fear. This man's very presence was like a death promise, even though he was not releasing any killer intent. She could tell her legs were trembling. A cold chill was running up her spine. She was holding back her tears, but couldn't stop sweating. Breathing seemed like a difficult task for her. And even when she managed to inhale some, the air felt hot. She could feel her sanity about to be gone.

"Sakura!" she snapped out of it. She looked at Kakashi, who called to her. "Calm down. Everything will be fine. Just stay focused." He ordered. The pink haired girl nodded in acknowledgement.

"Such eyes…" Chiyo thought loudly. "It has been a long, long time since I have last fought someone with eyes such as this young man."

"The certain thing I can tell you for starters is not to look into his eyes. If you do that, you're a goner." Kakashi said.

"But then again, it's not like that'll solve the problem." Hitodama continued. "Itachi is an extremely skilled shinobi, promoted to ANBU captain at age 13. Also, he's an extreme genjutsu user, though not the one to discard taijutsu and ninjutsu."

"In other words: he is a force to be reckoned with. Read his moves from the body language. And his genjutsu skill lies in his eyes." Chiyo said. Then her glare hardened. "Then it's a good thing none of us is facing him alone."

"Could you clarify?" Sakura asked.

"There are two rules when fighting the sharingan. First: if it's one-on-one, then flee. If it's two-on-one, take the rear." Chiyo explained.

Sakura thought for a moment. "Oh I see. If it's two-on-one, then even if one is caught in a genjutsu, the other can attack the real body and break the genjutsu."

"But even if it's impossible, the partner can be freed from it. So, when one attacks from the front, the other can attack from the behind, the sharingan's blind spot."

"That sounds like a perfect strategy. But there's a problem." Kakashi said with worry. This caught everyone's attention. "He can use a special genjutsu via the eyes stronger than those of the sharingan. It's an evolved version- mangekyo sharingan." Sakura and the Sand elder had a confused look on their faces. This did not escape the jonin's notice and explained. "The genjutsu he can use then can both affect you in an instance and has a powerful effect on your mind. A second passed in the real world but for me it was 72 hours of endless torture that can't be dispelled no matter how hard you try."

Chiyo's eyes widened. That WAS a power to fear. And Sakura showed clear signs of fear. This news was overwhelming.

"What a troublesome man. Who is he?" Temari asked. '_Damn… why is it that such a good looking guy is is the enemy?_' her inner persona asked.

"However…" Kakashi continued. "It would appear this genjutsu holds great risks, especially to your eyes."

"You are observant, Kakashi, even though you faced the tsukuyomi only once." Itachi complimented.

Kakashi made no comment on that. Instead he slowly reached for his forehead protector, revealing his sharingan in the left eye. When he opened his eye… "Tell me one thing, Itachi. Just how bad are your eyes now?"

Itachi finally, for the first time, showed emotion: shock. He didn't think anyone would know. Yet Kakashi knew. But how? How could it be the Copy Ninja knew about the weakness of the mangekyo sharingan? Unless…

"You caught me off guard last time, Itachi." Kakashi said. "Don't think that jutsu will affect me again."

Itachi looked at the Leaf jonin with a calm look. "Kakashi. Those who claim that can not be affected by the same jutsu twice WILL be affected by the same jutsu again." The Uchiha said. "You are provoking it to happen."

"Enough talk!" Temari announced, pulling out her fan. "Let's do this already and save Gaara!"

* * *

**Team Guy's location**

"You… You're…" Guy pointed at the blue skinned swordsman. Surprise and confusion were both written all over his face. Kisame smiled, resting his sword, Samehada, on his shoulder.

"Yeah, that's right." Kisame said. "I still owe you that kick."

"Guy-sensei, you know this man?" Lee asked. The whole team got both confused as well as interested. These two seemed to know each other well.

"No, I don't recall ever meeting him." He answered, disappointing everyone. Kisame just growled.

"Don't think you can mess with me, you beast. Come to think of it…" he raised his sword and pointed it at the taijutsu specialist. "Why don't we just settle this already?" he smiled evilly. The group got overwhelmed by the man's great killer intend. The younger members of the team felt like as if being suffocated. They could all barely stand on their feet. If it wasn't for their training, they would've fall insane.

"W-wha… What insane killer intent." Tenten commented. Neji activated his byakugan and looked at the Akatsuki member. What he saw terrified him.

"It… It can't be!" he showed fear, shocking his teammates. "I haven't seen this much chakra radiate from one person since my fight with Naruto! This man is a monster!"

Lee and Tenten looked at their teammate with horror. The Hyuga member rarely ever showed fear or rather worry and doubt. Neji was just too disciplined to be the kind who would tremble at the enemy's presence. But if was like that than the shark-like ninja before them must have been something. The thought of that came to affect them too. They wanted to get away. The only thing keeping them in place was their training.

"Now let's begin." Kisame said, disappearing. Where did he go? Guy looked up to find the rogue shinobi incoming with the sword ready to strike. There was no mistaking it- this man was going to hit hard. Guy jumped away in time to avoid even the shockwave from the impact. But Kisame wouldn't just stop there. No, he dashed at Guy, performing one swing after another, trying to hit the Leaf jonin. His danger sense kicked in time to make him evade the three younger ninja. The swordsman didn't hide his annoyance. He performed a sequence of hand seals. "Water Style: Aquatic Shockwave!" he roared, spitting out enormous mass of water. A huge tidal wave was incoming onto the Leaf team. They barely managed to avoid getting smashed. As lucky as they were to avoid this mass of water, now they needed to avoid the incoming swordsman, who was onto them. Guy raised his hands in self-defense, ready to engage the man. Kisame easily raised the great sword with just one hand. He was going to give Samehada a great feast today. However Lee interfered, kicking the swordsman away.

"Leaf Rising Gust!" he called out. Kisame looked at Guy's double with a glare, when…

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" Neji called, performing a strike with an open palm. The hit created a shockwave strong enough to deliver the punch despite the distance. The shark-like former Mist ninja was getting annoyed with the situation. Then he felt something. He looked down to find a few spiked balls around himself. That was weird. But when he noticed an explosive tag…

*boom*

As the water and dust fell, there was no sign of the Akatsuki shinobi. Not even blood, which was a bad thing.

"Damn it, I missed." Tenten complained.

Everyone searched around. While the man disappeared, it was a rather bad thing. Where did he go? Where will he strike from? These questions were running through their minds.

Down under water, which has flooded the whole area, Kisame was smiling evilly, ready to attack.

* * *

**The forest clearing**

"Sickle Weasel Jutsu!" Temari called, waving her huge fan. The created wind current launched at the Uchiha, who easily dodged it. While he was doing that, Kakashi appeared right next to him, ready to deliver a roundhouse kick to the side of his face. The foot hit him. But then Itachi turned into a group of crows flying away. Kakashi cursed under his breath. He's almost forgotten how skilled Itachi is. His danger kicked in just in time to block the incoming elbow. Kakashi distanced himself from the young Akatsuki member, as the mentioned man was preparing to cast a familiar jutsu.

"You, girl, eh… Temari, right?" Hitodama clapped the younger Sand kunoichi, getting her attention. "Use your wind jutsu one more time."

"But he's about to use a fire jutsu. How…?" Temari never got to finish her question.

"Less talking, more jutsu." the enforcer commanded, making hand seals of her own.

It was then that Temari understood the woman's intentions.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Itachi called, blowing an enlarged version of a Fireball Jutsu.

"Sickle Weasel Jutsu!" Temari performed the same jutsu. Only this time it was followed by another jutsu.

"Fire Style: Dragon Missile Jutsu!" Hitodama roared, blowing out a flame that took a form of a dragon. As her fire jutsu mixed with the wind jutsu, then not only was Itachi's jutsu easily overpowered. The jutsu continued towards the targeted man. Itachi's eyes hardened a bit.

"It's too easy." He said. Everyone was shocked as his voice came from behind. When the group looked around, they found Itachi far behind them, as if he was always there. What was going on?

"It can't be." Sakura was slightly scared. "How did he…? Is he really that fast?"

"No, this isn't speed." Chiyo said. "It's the worst possible weapon we could expect from the one with mangekyo sharingan."

"What do you mean, Old Lady Chiyo?" Hitodama asked.

"There are rumors, no- legends about the mangekyo sharingan. They say that the one who possesses these eyes has the ability to manipulate one of two factors of reality." The Sand elder explained.

"Two factors of reality?" Sakura was confused, as well as the others.

"Many scholars agree that reality is composed of two factors- time and space. Space is the factor that shapes the reality, giving it form and size. Then there's time, which allows the object to move from one point to the next, animating it as well as bringing existence. But the one who achieves the mangekyo sharingan can manipulate the two to some extend."

"So what we've been fighting was some kind of a clone?" Temari asked with her voice on edge.

"I'm not sure." Chiyo admitted. "Maybe he was able to bend the space to make it look as if he was there all along."

"It can't be. I felt his elbow when I blocked him." Kakashi said.

"Whatever it was we must be careful. This man is more than just dangerous."

Kakashi was about to advice something, when Hitodama charged at the Uchiha. She started to deliver punches and kicks.

"Kakashi!" she called. "Think how to take him down fast!" Itachi grabbed her hands. The woman used that opportunity and caught his cloak with one foot and delivered two kicks before grabbing his collar. Then she threw him over.

"Alright, I think I've got it." The silver haired jonin whispered to the others.

* * *

**The dessert**

Team Guy took a defensive formation. This guy was either playing with them or hiding. Whatever the reason, Neji activated his byakugan. He needed to find the swordsman and fast before he caught them. A drop of sweat ran down his temple. He focused on finding the man. Where was he?

Before Neji could say a word, Kisame emerged before guy, bringing his sword down. The jonin specialist barely reacted, sending the Akatsuki ninja away.

"That was nice." Kisame mocked a compliment. "Your reflexes are really good."

Guy's eyes widened again. "That sword… And the water jutsu…" he pointed at the shark man. It looked as if he had it at the end of his tongue. "I… think I have met you before." He said, making his team comically fall off feet.

Kisame was clearly annoyed. "I guess your brain is really that of a beast- capable of working on people's nerves." He pressed his hand against the water. In an instant, three more Kisames appeared, created from water, each in front of Guy's teammates. "Get them, boys." The original ordered.

Neji, Tenten and Lee hit their opponents, which was exactly what the swordsman wanted. "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!" the clones called, using the water spilling out of their bodies to catch the Leaf ninja.

Guy watched in horror as his team was now in water bubbles, enable to breath. He wanted to help them, when his instinct told him to jump away. He barely made it. The Original Kisame was onto him.

"Now don't run away, Green Beast." Kisame said. "I still haven't repaid you for that kick to the face."

His sword almost hit the bowl headed man. However, Guy managed to block the attack with his nunchaku. It surprised the Akatsuki member for a second, not expecting the jonin to manage to pull out a weapon this fast. But he quickly smiled again, pressing on. Guy just couldn't believe how strong Kisame was. He had trouble holding his blade away.

*splash*

A huge pillar of water raised before Kisame. He was looking down, where Might Guy sank under water. So the Leaf jonin decided to hide underwater to come up with a counter. How foolish that was. Water was Kisame's turf.

"Water Style: Five Shark Feeding Frenzy!" he called pressing the water's surface. Under his fingertips the water started to gather, creating five sharks which launched at the Leaf jonin. Guy was in trouble now. The water limited his movement.

* * *

**The forest clearing**

Only now did Sakura understand why the enforcer was barefooted. Her taijutsu style had her use her feet as a second pair of hands. It was a strange way to fight. She didn't even think it was possible to do that. But here she was- the woman who could do that. Hitodama was able to distract Itachi just for long enough to let the others prepare something just for him.

She charged first, gathering her strength in her fist. Her battle cry was the signal for the enforcer to get out of the way. She jumped away just in time, as the pink haired girl delivered a punch. Itachi easily dodged it. She was of no threat to him. But then he noticed that she wasn't truly aiming for him. Her fist hit the ground, creating a huge crater. Itachi was flying in midair, flying away from the young kunoichi, when Temari used her wind jutsu on him. Itachi, taking advantage of his agility, turned around and performed a fire jutsu, aiming at the Sand kunoichi. Temari cursed under her breath and dodged the jutsu by the last second. Hitodama decided to take the opportunity.

"Fire Style: Dragon Arts: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" she called out, launching a white fireball at the Uchiha. Itachi performed the exact same jutsu but it was overpowered by the Leaf enforcer's version. The Akatsuki shinobi cursed mentally and jumped down, where Kakashi was waiting for him. He pierced the emotionless Uchiha with his raikiri. It seemed as if it was over. Itachi seemed to be looking far into the distance. His eyes widened before he smiled.

"That was impressive, Kakashi." He said. "I'll let you pass for now. However…"

"Huh?" Kakashi wondered what Itachi was talking about.

"It would appear you're not the only one looking to help the Kazekage." He said before his appearance started to change.

"What the…?" everyone was surprised by the revelation.

* * *

**The dessert**

Neji took a look around with his byakugan. They needed to get free. But how? He had an idea. And he had to act fast. Tenten and Lee were at their limit. Guy on the other hand seemed to gather his strength. Yes, they were both ready. At the same time…

"Full Body Blow!" Neji caused the water to explode along with the clone, freeing him. Then he delivered a precise attack on the other two clones. With them gone, the water jutsu imprisoning his teammates dissolved to normal water.

"Eight Inner Gates! Gate Six: View: Open!" Guy roared, causing the water around him to seemingly boil. As one would look closer, the water actually forms a vortex. Guy's skin turned red, veins appearing on his face. His eyes turned completely white. The water sharks exploded. Guy launched at the swordsman, sending him up into the air. "Morning Peacock!" the taijutsu specialist called, delivering punches so strong that the pressured air ignited. In result, he was sending fireballs from his fists towards the shark-like rogue ninja. Every single punch hit the man, sending him into the ground. After a few seconds, the water appeared to be soaking into the sand. The whole team gathered by Guy's side, discovering something weird.

* * *

**The forest clearing**

"What is this?" Kakashi asked. "Some sort of substitution jutsu?"

"This man was on the Sand Council for the past 15 years." Chiyo said, recognizing the man who seemed to pretend Itachi.

"Now I understand how the Akatsuki could organize their attack this well." Temari thought.

"There is no doubt about it." Chiyo said with a disturbing voice. "This was just a delay."

"Um, Lady Chiyo?" Sakura caught her attention. "I'm not sure I follow. What is this all about? All I know is that Gaara is like my teammate- has a tailed beast inside of him." Sakura said. Kakashi and Hitodama dropped their heads. She knew about Naruto having the Fox sealed inside him, but didn't know everything about the topic.

"Where should I begin?" Chiyo wondered. "The tailed beasts are constructs created out of pure chakra, given form and substance- and sentience. They are the strongest source of chakra that exists. Therefore each village sought to capture and control their power in order to use them as weapons." The Sand elder paused for a minute. Shame appeared to flash in her eyes. "However… humans are too arrogant to understand that there are some things beyond their abilities. The control of the tailed beast is just impossible. No man has the power to do that."

"Yet there was something, right?" Sakura deducted.

"The result was a jinchuriki- a human vessel to contain the tailed beast's power." She said. This revelation made Sakura's eyes widen in horror. "The power of the beast upon sealing is highly compressed and therefore, in theory, can be directed. The person who becomes a jinchuriki is being given the power of the tailed beast."

Sakura said nothing for a moment. She didn't need to ask for what she saw and knew via Naruto's life- the jinchuriki were taken by people for the beasts themselves. Therefore they were forced to live a life of hatred and rejection. They were outcast, the unwanted. They were cursed by the village authorities to be a weapon the village would disregard. "The jinchuriki were meant as a weapon, yes?"

"That's right." Chiyo answered simply, as if without regret.

"Then you… How could you do that?" She cried in fury. "Do you even understand what you did to…?" She paused and took a deep breath. She calmed down, before she got too emotional. "So what are they doing now? How to remove the tailed beast?"

"The Akatsuki are doing it right now as we speak, child. They are clearly planning on creating a new jinchuriki. And to answer the second question: No matter how strong the jutsu, it will take a considerable amount of time to extract the beast from the current host. However, if you do remove the beast, the host…" she paused. She hoped not to use the word. Sakura wasn't an idiot. Something told her she knew already what would happen. She looked the elder in the eyes. Her emerald eyes were asking the silent question.

"Yes, the host dies."

Sakura broke into tears. She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to accept it. If Naruto was to be caught by these people…

"Enough waiting around, softie!" Hitodama shouted. "Move it."

Kakashi was about to move, when he saw the enforcer barely walking. "You okay, miss Hitodama?" he asked.

"Sorry, Kakashi." She said. "I think I used too much chakra on this one. You'll have to do without me."

"I'll take her back to the Sand." Temari suggested. But the enforcer slapped her hand away.

"I'm not that weak, girl. I can get there myself. Now go. Your brother's the one who needs you most."

Temari hesitated for a while, but this woman was right. She nodded and, along with Kakashi, leaped away. The Leaf kunoichi got on her feet and moved towards the Sand, holding her side. She couldn't believe that Itachi managed to injure her.

* * *

**Akatsuki hideout**

The group continued to extract Shukaku, the One-Tail, out from Gaara. They all seemed to be in deep meditation, when Itachi's projection interrupted the silence.

"They are progressing again, Leader." The Uchiha said.

"They dealt with you faster then I would've expected, hn." Deidara mocked. "You're loosing your touch, Itachi, hn."

"They held them for long enough, Deidara." The leader said. His eyes turned towards Itachi. Anything else you want to report?"

"The people who might be a challenge are Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Neji Hyuga and Elder Chiyo." Itachi said.

"Grandma Chiyo?" Sasori whispered to himself.

"I see." Leader commented. "However Deidara and Sasori should be able to handle this themselves."

"You're leaving us to ourselves? Not cool, hn." Deidara commented.

"You are more than capable to deal with them or escape them. You know we took this scenario into consideration." Leader reminded him, making Deidara smiling more happily.

"One more thing." Itachi said.

At the same time, Gaara's body fell lifeless.

* * *

**Outside**

Team Guy leaped through the trees until they saw Kakashi. The team merged just as Chiyo pointed at the rock with a tag down a cliff. The whole party landed on the water surface. The journey was long. The sun has started to rise. But they made it. Guy wanted to hit the boulder, but…

"Wait, Guy-sensei!" Neji stopped him, getting a confused look from everyone. "I can see the whole stone covered in chakra. There's a barrier."

"But we must can in there fast." Temari yelled.

"This is no ordinary barrier." Chiyo analyzed the tag. "This specific seal is protected with more tags. If we try to remove them separately we will be in the world of pain."

"There should be more but somewhere around, right?" Neji asked, focusing his byakugan. "I found them. One is 400 meters south from here. Second- 520 to the north-west. Third- 300 north. Forth- 700 to the east."

"We'll deal with those, Kakashi." Guy said, making a nice-guy pose. "Our sacrifice shall clear you the way to the youthful Kazekage."

"Let's stay in radio contact." Kakashi said, pulling out a radio. "I'll signal you when to remove the tags."

A few seconds later, Kakashi and Team guy switched to the same frequency and departed. Some time passed, as Sakura got ready to turn the oversized pebble into dust. Kakashi started a countdown and removed the tag.

"Do it, Sakura!" He ordered.

The pink haired student of Tsunade didn't need to be told twice. She obliterated the boulder, opening the cave's entrance. As the dust cleared, the team could see two Akatsuki members waiting for them. Gaara's body was lying between them.

"Well, well, looks like they found us, Sasori, hn." Deidara said mockingly.

"Indeed, Deidara." His partner replied. "What do you think we should do?"

"How about you give back my little brother first, you bastards?" Temari shouted with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe what she saw. She always tried her best to be there for Gaara when he needed a mother. Even after Naruto beat him and calmed him down, thus making him abandon his path as a sociopath, she was next to him. She wanted to be always with him when she and Kankuro heard him say something they never thought they'll hear from him.

'_I always thought that I can make people acknowledge my existence by killing them. I believed that fear is what can make me strong. But then he came. He claimed to be like me- born from a woman's womb, but living in the darkness, lonely, abandoned, unwanted, hated. But he made bonds, while I continued to be hated and killed in return. I thought I was stronger than him thanks to that. And yet… I was beaten by him. Because he had people he wanted to protect he was not afraid to give up his life to stop me. Temari, Kankuro… I want to follow his path. I understand now. He wasn't making bonds to be stronger. He had to be this strong so he could protect them. I want to be like him. I want to protect people from monsters such as I was. I no longer want to be the reason for their fears. I want to be their shield when their own fails. I want to be their sword when others are broken. That is the path I want to now follow._'

"GIVE HIM BACK!" She shouted, crying, and performed a powerful wind jutsu. The jutsu happened to be powerful enough to destroy the cave's ceiling. As the rubble was falling, Temari rushed to take her brother away from them. But that was what they wanted. Sasori caught her with his tail. The man was a puppet.

"What the…?" Sakura asked.

"That's Sasori's favorite puppet, Hiruko." Chiyo explained, remaining calm. "The real Sasori is hiding inside."

"You're right as always, Grandma." Sasori said with some delight. "Now with her and you as the next prey, I'll have 300 kills exactly. Now that's a fine art."

"You call this art, Sasori?" Deidara complained. "This is no art, hn. It's…"

"This is no time for that, Deidara. Focus."

"You're right." the blond turned to face the Leaf and Sand ninja. "Alright then. Talk."

"Talk? What are you talking about?" Kakashi was a bit confused, though he didn't show it.

"Don't play dumb. We know you're not alone. Where's that enforcer woman?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to deal with us for know. But worry. She'll be back soon enough with Sand's elite." Kakashi bluffed. He just hoped they'll buy it.

"Really?" Sasori questioned. He didn't believe the Copy Cat Ninja. Then again, he couldn't take the chances. "Well then… I'll let this gal reunite with her little brother then." He prepared to impale Temari on her tail. Temari was terrified. No one would make it to save her.

*crash*

Sasori's puppet armor was whole broken. It was falling apart. Deidara blinked multiple times, but he wasn't seeing things. He looked at the Kazekage's body, which wasn't there.

"What the devil?" the explosive maniac was dumbstruck. He looked at the enemies. His eyes widened in disbelieve. And so did the eyes of the Leaf ninja and the Sand Elder.

A man was standing just a step away from the rescue party. He already placed the Sand kunoichi on the ground while still having Gaara's body over his shoulder. The man was well build, wearing a black, sleeveless shirt with two vertical orange stripes and orange pants under a ragged, black cloth wrapped around his waist. His left arm was bandaged from hand up to half his biceps and wearing a glove on the very same hand. There were some stripes on his right arm. But the most noticeable features of his were on his unshaved face- the whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks, ocean blue eyes and spiky blonde hair, now covering his eyes.

"Damn. It's been a long time." Naruto Said with his signature grin.

**To be continued…**


	5. Chapter 4 Naruto returns

**Chapter 4**

**Naruto returns**

* * *

"_When we are betrayed, we are given two paths. Revenge is the common one. But forgiveness is the right one."_ Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage

* * *

The sound of the falling pebbles was breaking the silence. None of the parties moved a muscle. The Akatsuki were still dumbfounded by the blonde who made them look like fools, while the Sand and Leaf ninja were trying to comprehend his arrival. Naruto turned to face them, scratching his scar on the left cheek, a memory of his sister, killed five years ago before his very eyes. The blonde gently putted Gaara down on the ground, before facing his captors.

"N-Naruto? Is that…?" Sakura wanted to ask him, but was cut off.

"This is hardly the time for talk, Sakura. Even I know that." The Uzumaki said with a serious voice. He cracked his knuckles, ready to rumble. "So which one of you wants to fight me, you trash? Mister Lady or Doll-man?"

Deidara giggled. "Hey, Sasori, you heard that? You're the Doll-man." He almost started laughing.

"That doesn't change the fact that you're Mister Lady, you idiot." Sasori pointed out, shutting his partner. Soon Deidara realized things and got all red.

"Who are you calling a lady?! I'm just hot, hn!" The Akatsuki blond yelled.

"Yeah right." Naruto mocked. "You're just flat. Damn, you're even more flat than a six year old and have a very deep voice, that's all." He could see some smoke running out of Deidara's ears. "No need to pretend to be a guy just because your hormones failed to make you into a beauty."

Chiyo and Temari couldn't grasp what was happening. This blond was talking some nonsense, which were enraging the Akatsuki. In fact, they were holding back from laughing. The Leaf team, on the other hand, couldn't believe Naruto was still into this.

"Damn it! Stop mocking me, you stupid jinchuriki!"

"If I'm stupid then what are you, being aware I'm mocking you and still falling for it? I just can't understand you guys." The blond said plainly, as if not caring he was talking to an S-rank criminal ninja.

"That's it!" the explosives specialist animated a huge clay bird, mounted it and took off. "The jinchuriki is mine, hn!"

He launched at the blond, catching him with the talons and flew out. Kakashi followed them with his eyes before actually moving. "Damn it. I see Naruto only for three minutes and he's already working on my nerves. I'll help him deal with this guy. You handle Sasori."

"If you're dealing with someone like him, you're gonna need a long-distance type at your side." Temari suggested. Since this was no time for debate he nodded in agreement. The two leaped after Deidara's bird, while Sakura and the Sand elder faced the puppeteer.

Sasori decided it'll be for the best to abandon his puppet. Its armor wouldn't provide any more protection now. As he left, the two kunoichi were surprised to find a young, red haired man in the typical Akatsuki cloak.

"What is this? Some kind of trick?" Chiyo asked loudly.

"What do you mean, Lady Chiyo?" Sakura was confused.

"Sasori should be older, far older than this." She explained. "Is this another puppet of yours, Sasori?"

Sasori smiled. He was clearly calm. He took off his cloak, revealing his whole body being that of a puppet. A wire was coming out of his belly, covered with poison. A total of eight blades were on his back, forming wings. He smiled. He was going to kill them.

* * *

**Outside**

Deidara was flying high, to make the jinchuriki think if he really should try to free himself. Although he couldn't hide his disappointment. He thought about what Itachi said.

Flashback

"_One more thing" Itachi said, as the chakra dragons let Gaara's body fall onto the ground. "They are not alone."_

"_What do you mean, hn?" Deidara asked. "They have more back up, hn?"_

"_The jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails is coming." The Uchiha said, getting everyone's interest._

"_The jinchuriki of the Fox? Naruto Uzumaki? He's coming here?" Leader asked._

"_As we speak." Itachi confirmed._

"_Well, it's not like we need to catch him right away." Leader said. "It would be better to seal it for last. But on the other hand we may not have such an easy-to-catch opportunity again." He turned to the puppeteer and the sapper. "Catch him if you can."_

"_And how do we recognize this Naruto?" Sasori asked._

"_He should be easy to spot." Itachi informed. "Blond spiky hair, whisker marks on his cheeks, annoying personality…"_

"_I've got the picture. He's as good as ours." Deidara smiled ominously._

End flashback

He looked down at the blond. He wasn't resisting at all. He was beginning to wonder if the jinchuriki wasn't plotting something. That's when his senses told him to evade. Just in time he avoided a wind jutsu. He looked down to find Kakashi and Temari after him. The Sand kunoichi seemed ready to hit another jutsu, while Kakashi was focusing. He revealed his sharingan as they left the cave, and now he closed his eye. Temari was at first confused as to why she had to do all the work. But then again Kakashi wouldn't have her do that unless he needed time for preparations. She waved her fan again. Deidara dodged again.

"Hey, what's the big idea, you stupid girl, hn?" Deidara shouted. "Don't you care about this guy's life, hn?"

"Then come down here and fight me like a man, you sissy." Temari shouted back. "Or are you afraid of loosing to a girl?"

"Ha! I have no need to fight you. I have what I need. Now I ca…" Deidara was talking. But Temari's attention got drawn by Kakashi's sudden increase in speed.

"I'm ready. Kamui!" he said, opening his sharingan. Only now it was different, much different. The design looked like that of a demon windmill shuriken. What was that eye? Then she looked up towards the Akatsuki guy. The space around his arm seemed to collapse. It was swirling and collapsing. Deidara could see that and couldn't pull his arm out. His arm started to hurt. But he wouldn't give up his other arm. He pulled it with his whole might…

Kakashi's jutsu failed. He was just a second too late. Deidara made some weird kind of exercise with his arm. It felt so stiff. 'That was a close one.' He thought, "Better take greater distance.' He patted his bird to fly higher. As the bird was about to do so, it started to act strange. Deidara looked down. Was that Sand kunoichi attacking again?

He saw the talons holding nothing.

"What?! Where's the jinchuriki?!" he asked loudly, looking around.

"Looking for me, bastard?" someone asked him from behind. Deidara froze for a moment, before building the courage to look behind. As he turned around, he saw the familiar blond. Just in time to see his foot hit his face. As Deidara was falling, he took the opportunity to detonate the bird. It exploded. A huge cloud of smoke continued to expand as the flames vanished.

He smiled in satisfaction, until he noticed something incoming from the black cloud. It hit him. It was the jinchuriki.

They disappeared in the trees.

Kakashi and Temari wasted no time and followed after them. As the two were leaping through the trees, they could hear the merciless beating. There was a sound of flesh being beaten. Bones were breaking. The cries of pain echoed throughout the forest. They arrived to find the two fighting.

Despite a missing arm, Deidara was doing pretty well. He kept throwing his clay birds and spiders at the blond, who was easily dodging them.

"Trash." Naruto called him, grabbing his hand and crushing it. Then he delivered an elbow to his gut. "Animal." He continued, punching and hitting the Akatsuki with no openings for escape. "Waste of whatever potential." Naruto finally grabbed the bomber with his huge hands, pushing him to the dirt. From above, the clones, performing the rasengan, were yelling. The ball of widely swirling chakra hit the man with insane force. However, in his place there was a mass of clay. Naruto growled in anger. He looked behind to find Deidara standing, surrounded by an army of clay clones. The artist was smiling sinisterly.

"This is it, hn." He said. "You'll be coming with me. If you want to join your friend, I can beat you just as bad as I did him, hn."

The Uzumaki glared evilly. He was going to use this version he decided. So he made a few clones and had them charge at the group of Akatsuki clones. Deidara could easily fight them off. And this got him suspicious. This shouldn't be this easy, should it? Then all the Deidaras saw this weak light incoming. What was that?

"Gigantic Rasengan!" Two Narutos yelled, dashing with a huge version of the jutsu. the two kept charging, ramming every Akatsuki in their path. The original started sweating. This was dangerous. He managed to jump away, but he was too slow to avoid the attack completely. His left leg got hit. In frustration, he got ready to use another explosive creation, when he felt the familiar sensation. His arm…

The part between his shoulder and elbow disappeared. The grass turned red. The artist cried in pain for a minute.

"You stupid… JINCHURIKI! YOU'RE AS WORTHLESS AS THE ONE-TAIL! WISH YOU KNEW HOW HE BEGGED ME TO STOP!" he cried, taking steps back. He made a grave mistake.

Even Temari, despite being in Gaara's presence all these years, was overwhelmed with this one sensation- primal fear.

Naruto's eyes turned red, as his facial expression turned to that of a psychopath. A red aura was showing around him. Deidara was about to move, when…

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Pain. The only thing aside from fear Deidara was aware of was pain. he looked into these eyes. These blood red eyes of Naruto's. There was no mercy. No second changes. Not even pity. These were no eyes of someone who would just kill- he was going to enjoy making the Akatsuki artist beg for death, which would be in no way pleasant if ever to be delivered.

This was no murderer. This was true evil- a demon.

He tried to escape. He knew he turned away and started running. He was running as fast as he could. Then why was it as if he didn't move a single muscle? Was it fear? He was brought back to reality when Naruto caught him by the throat and pressed him against the tree. The artist looked with a glare… to look at the insane smile.

"What's the matter, puny, little man?" Naruto spoke with a darker, more sinister voice. "Can't handle the pressure now, can you?" he tightened his grip, making Deidara spit some blood. "How pathetic. Is this truly the power you beat the red head with? You must be just a pet to the organization. In other words the weakest link. Otherwise you'd be able to do something about me… Wouldn't you, you third-rate artist?" he said, getting his face closer to the Akatsuki ninja.

The last sentence got on Deidara's nerves. No body calls him a third-rate artist. He kicked Naruto in the chin, somehow forcing him to let him go. He took that opportunity to run. Unfortunately he didn't get far. As he was about to land on the branch, Guy kicked him in the gut, sending him back on the ground.

* * *

Naruto pulled himself together and was ready to go after the bomber. He wouldn't let this one go. He was now going to destroy him with more power. He seemed to be turning into flames, growing a tail. Kakashi knew this was bad. However, he was prepared. Despite the blonde's disappearance 5 years ago, Kakashi believed Naruto survived. Sometimes, when on missions, he would spare some time to look for him. Since that was the case, Jiraiya gave the jonin a special sealing tag should Naruto lose self-control.

Now was the time to act.

He appeared behind Naruto and placed the tag on his forehead. He could tell it was working. The chakra cloak started to disappear. Naruto started to act strangely. He started to suddenly scream, rolling on the ground. Was he in pain? The jonin putted that question aside after the young man stopped moving.

Then his attention was caught by the Akatsuki bomber who hit the ground with a thud. Team guy has arrived just in time.

"You guys look pretty beaten up." Kakashi commented, seeing Team Guy covered in bruises.

"Yes, well, we had some difficulties." Guy said. "But we were youthful enough to handle it."

"So you managed to deal with the special protection seal, hn?" Deidara commented, standing above the clay which served for a clone earlier. "Well then… I'll have to deal with you all now, hn."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Neji said, removing his hair from his eyes. His braid was ruined during the fight with the clone, but was somewhat thankful. "You are outnumbered after all."

"And out powered." Naruto said, getting up on his legs. Team guy was so surprised seeing him, it gave Deidara the opening. The bomber bit the clay. Then there was a chakra spike.

* * *

*ka-boom*

A huge explosion took place. Huge enough for Sakura and Chiyo to see. The two were exhausted after their fight with Sasori. He was a very powerful ninja. Sakura was actually still a bit shaken thinking there was still more like him and Itachi. These people were monsters. Luckily Lady Chiyo was with her. Her knowledge and experience made their victory possible. Now they were in a hurry to find their comrades.

It took a long while, but finally found the place. It was hard to see anything through the smoke and dust in the air. But it soon cleared. Everyone was alright. Kakashi was leaning against the tree, pulling down his forehead protector to hide his left eye, while Naruto had his defensive jutsu active and down to one head.

"That was close." Kakashi said. "Kamui managed to send the explosion into a different dimension just in the nick of seconds."

"Are you alright, Kakashi?" Guy asked, offering a helping hand.

"Yes, but I'm exhausted. I won't be able to move for days."

A while later everyone gathered on the small clearing. Sakura placed Gaara's body down. Naruto approached him.

"Sakura, is he…?" Naruto asked. She shook her head. "No. No it can't be. He can't end up like this!" he kneeled beside the red head, trembling. Everyone held back from saying a word.

"Relax, young man." Chiyo said with no sign of sadness in her voice. She said it as if Gaara was just another person to die.

"SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled out, with a furious expression. But it was the tears in his eyes that caught her attention. Who was this man? "This is your entire fault! If you ninja of the Sand hadn't putted that beast inside Gaara, none of this would've happen!" Chiyo took a step back. She didn't show it, but Temari could tell that the elder was trying to fight the sensation of guilt. "Did you even ask Gaara how he felt? You made him into something without his say on the matter and then you tried to kill him! JUST HOW ARROGANT ARE YOU PEOPLE TO TURN US, HUMANS, INTO WEAPON?! YOU THINK THAT CHANGING US INTO JINCHURIKI MAKES YOU SUPERIOR OR SOMETHING?! HUH?!" No one said anything. Actually, the older generation looked down with shame. Chiyo was just looking at the boy. At something touched her. Her mind travelled back to the last night.

Flashback

_The fight with Itachi was tiresome. The team decided to take a rest. They were resting in a shallow cave. The fire was just big enough to scare away any animals nearby. Chiyo looked at Kakashi, who was taking the watch. Something was troubling her._

"_Tell me, son of the White Fang." She started. "The girl, Sakura, mentioned her teammate is the same as Gaara. What is she exactly talking about?"_

_Kakashi sighed. It was a bit painful for him. "Naruto Uzumaki is the jinchuriki of the Nina-tail." He said, getting the elder surprised. "It was sealed within him the same night it attacked our village. I believe you can imagine what kind of childhood he had."_

"_Being seen for the creature itself."_

"_If he were here, he would likely race to save him."_

_The elder was confused. "Why? Why would he come to save someone from another village?"_

"_Because to Naruto it doesn't matter what village he's from. Gaara is the jinchuriki just like him. That is enough to consider him close."_

"_It's a shame then." Chiyo commented._

"_It was Naruto who changed Gaara, you know." Kakashi said, surprising the elder woman. "It's unreal, but Naruto's greatest power isn't that of the Fox. He has a strange power. Whoever he'll meet, Naruto can make friends with them. It is as if he could see into their souls and find that one thing through which he can change them, as if seeing that one, tiny crack in their cold armor of hatred."_

Flashback end

"I was training so hard, hoping that I'll grow strong while travelling the world. And now it appears I still can't protect someone dear to me…" Naruto fell on his knees, seemingly broken. Chiyo had a serious look. This boy was strange. Yet he triggered something in her.

She intended to set things right. this new generation would not pay for the arrogance and mistakes of hers. She walked over to Gaara and pressed her hand against Gaara's chest. A sudden chakra spike scared off the birds nearby.

"Lady Chiyo…!" Temari cried in terror.

"Wha… What is Granny Fossil doing?" Naruto asked with a tone.

"She… She's bringing him back to life." Temari started to explain. "This jutsu allows bringing the dead back to life in exchange for the user's life."

"What? Stop her!" Naruto yelled.

"Don't, boy." Chiyo said calmly. "I wouldn't survive the night anyway. So consider this my way to set things right." she said. She continued the jutsu. but after a while frustration appeared on her face. "Damn it. Not enough chakra…"

Naruto growled, running his hand through his hair. He quickly appeared before the Sand elder. "Use my chakra." He said, getting his attention. "It'll work, won't it?" he asked. Chiyo seemed to be in a deep thought. She nodded.

"Place your hands on top of mine, child." She said. Naruto did just that. "In this world of shinobi, made by foolish old people, I am glad someone like you appeared." She commented. Everyone was listening to her. "My past was filled with nothing but mistake after another. I always believed that people who once became enemies must remain enemies. I am glad that for once I'll be able to do something that is right, not what I find necessary. Sand and Leaf… the future before you at this moment will definitely be a better place than my past. Kakashi told me you had a strange gift to make friends with anyone. I hope you'll become someone with great influence. People with this kind of power, and kindness, are needed now in this chaotic world." She raised her head and glanced at the young blond. "I have one final request, Naruto Uzumaki. You are the only one who's able to understand Gaara's pain. And he understands yours as well… Please help him…for me… where I… couldn't…"

Naruto closed his eyes. When he opened them, there was light everywhere. He saw something off in the distance. He jumped forward…

Gaara opened his eyes as soon as he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He sat up and looked around. The rescue party and the ninja of Sand were all around him. Everyone was cheering.

"Wha… What happened?" he said weakly, with a confused look. He looked at his shoulder and then followed the arm to find a familiar smile.

"Everyone was worried about you, brother." Naruto commented. Gaara's eyes widened.

"Naruto…" he said, trying to get up. He almost fell, but Naruto supported him.

"Come on. Let's get you home."

"Naruto's right." Temari said. "You need a solid rest now. Though, it's not like you need the assistance of an underling." She said with a smile, looking proud.

"Funny, considering you're his underling yourself." Naruto commented with a sly smile. The Sand blond suddenly looked down, losing her proud look.

* * *

Deidara's arm was lying still right were it fallen. The flies were already swarming around it. But they flew away when two figures approached it.

"Oh, lookie, Mr. Zetsu." One man said, reaching for the limb. "It's Deidara's arm. Well, I guess the rescue rangers didn't had too much trouble after he was 'dis-armed. He he." The man joked.

"**Show a little more respect, you fool.**" Black Zetsu said with a harsh voice.

"Calm down. Tobi is a good boy. Don't be so harsh on him." The White Zetsu commented on the man in a black suit with some armor pieces. The man turned towards Zetsu, showing his orange, spiral mask with a single eye-hole. A ragged symbol of the Seven Lucky Gods Trading Guild was on his chest.

"Well what do we do now, Mr. Zetsu? Since there seems to be no body, I take if Deidara's last masterpiece blew him off too." Tobi joked.

"Leave my arm alone, you jackass." A familiar voice caught everyone's attention. They turned to find Deidara approach them. Apparently that explosion was more for show, allowing him to escape.

"Hey, he's still alive." Tobi cheered.

"**Where's the jinchuriki?**" Black Zetsu asked.

"Hey, don't look at me, hn. I did my job, hn." Deidara answered with a bored expression.

"My, my, but the rescue party did give you quite a beating, didn't they?" The masked man commented with some joy. "I mean, how they could not, considering your level."

Deidara gave him the look. "Tobi, even Buddha loses patience when insulted three times. Insult me again, and you won't live to regret it."

"And what're you gonna do? Have me pose to your kindergarten sculptures?" Tobi asked him humorously.

"That's third." Black and White Zetsu commented.

Deidara's legs were wrapped around Tobi's neck, squeezing the life out of him. "DEATH BY SOPHOCATION!" the artist announced with circles for eyes.

* * *

**The Hidden Sand Village, night time**

It was a hard day on everyone. People decided to party another time for the Kazekage's save return. Besides, they just had a funeral for Lady Chiyo. It was a sad thing after all. And Gaara needed rest.

The Leaf ninja were allowed to stay for the night. Or rather they requested to stay for the night. And that was just what they were doing.

But they weren't exactly resting.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he looked at the others around him. They were all giving him a stare.

"Why… am I in this position again?" he asked. What was he asking about? Well, he was tied to the chair with ropes, chains and sealing tags. Plus there were some kunai and wire around, aiming at him, should he try anything.

"Well I admit. The kunai trap is going too far, Sakura." Kakashi commented with a sweat drop in a word balloon over his head.

"Like a chain would hold that guy!" she yelled.

"Typical Sakura." Naruto commented loudly with a give-up look. "Still believes to know everything."

"Well you are tied up according to her instructions." Lee commented.

"As if I could expect her to be gentle."

"Hey!" The pink head roared.

"Now, now, Sakura. Let's just take it easy." Kakashi asked.

"My youthful rival is corrected. We should just talk to Naruto about his adventures." Guy suggested.

"Like a big-fore-headed pettanko (a term for girl with flat-chest) with a temper like her would be interested." Naruto commented coolly. There was a sudden chill in the air, as Sakura was releasing her killer intend.

"What did you call me, Naruto." The kunoichi asked calmly. Strangely to everyone, Naruto seemed calm.

"Don't tell me you didn't hear me, Sakura. I just said you're the type of girl to prove people's point when they comment on your lack of famine charm."

The killer intend suddenly disappeared. Sakura was now sitting curled in a corner. The atmosphere felt more then depressing. "Why is it that…" she started murmuring something under her nose.

"Well, good night everyone." Naruto said, walking out of the toilet. As he entered his own room, everyone had an owlish look. They looked at Naruto in the chair, who just puffed away.

"Somehow Naruto has grown up into a jerk." Tenten stated.

"Is he a jerk or are we?" Neji asked.

Everyone sighed in defeat.

* * *

**The next day, morning**

The rescue team, Naruto and Gaara with his siblings were standing outside the gates. It was time to depart. Naruto and Gaara shook each others' hands, which was taken by both sides as a sign of a better future coming. As the Leaf ninja moved out…

"So, Naruto, what are your plans now?" Neji asked. Then the blond noticed everyone looking at him- staring.

"Well, I doubt you guys will let me go off my way. Might as well go with you. I miss the Ichiraku's" he said, having everyone fall in a comical manner. Then he giggled. "Just messing with you. Actually, I feel homesick. I feel it's about time to come back now."

"You mean you…" Lee had stars in his eyes.

"Don't get too confident, Bushy-brows. I'm still not certain how much that village is tolerant towards me. But… it is still my home. I might as well try a new."

"Sweat!" Guy shouted, getting everyone's attention. "To celebrate this, let's have a race!" he announced, carrying the fatigued Kakashi on his back.

'_This is disturbing._' Naruto thought.

'_Two adults giving each other a piggyback ride? It's so wrong._' Sakura thought.

'_I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks now._' Tenten thought.

'….' Neji thought.

'_Note to self: never go out on a mission with these two again._' Hitodama thought.

"I see… I won't lose to you, Guy-sensei!" Lee shouted, as his mentor ran out into the distance, laughing.

"Try to catch up! Ha ha!" Guy shouted, running into the distance with the helpless Kakashi.

Everyone still had the disturbed look.

"Anyone?" Lee said, ready to carry anyone.

"Like hell!" The whole group shouted.

**To be continued…**


	6. Chapter 5 Returning to the village

**Chapter 5**

**Returning to the village**

"_Home is the one place you always wish to return to, no matter how long ago you left it._"- Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage

"*yawn* I'm sleepy." Kotetsu complained, scratching his cheek just under his plaster.

"Then why did you party 'til late at night?" Izumo asked him.

"Well I was invited to your party."

"This doesn't mean you…"

The two were having an early morning talk, as always complaining about their morning duty. While it sounded like complain, it was just their way of entertaining themselves. They were getting bored so easily on this assignment, especially when no one was coming to enter or exit the village. It was probably the most boring duty anyone could get. Especially now, when the sun barely rose above the horizon. People were just starting breakfast and dressing. And what about them? Working already. As a Nara would put it: what a drag.

Then they felt it. The ground was shaking. Was it an earthquake? No, this was not the kind of trembling. Then some strange sound caught their attention. As they looked, something was approaching them at high speed. It was coming fast. Very, VERY fast. Something so fast it couldn't be human. What was it? What kind of monstrosity was approaching them? They got ready to close the gate and alert the village. Then they could see the approaching horror.

Guy stopped just before the gates, hitting Kakashi's chin with his head. Lee topped just behind him.

"First place!" Guy announced.

"Merely second but still!" Lee followed. The chunin on the watch duty were stupefied.

"What in the…?" Kotetsu asked.

"If it's these two, why bother?" Izumo followed.

"Lee, you still need some training to do." Guy advised his pupil.

"Really, Guy-sensei? Why's that?" the young ninja asked.

"Because, my poor Lee, you didn't come in second. BUT THIRD! You forgot I was carrying Kakashi this whole time." Guy explained the situation. "No need to thank me, my eternal rival."

"There's no way he'd do that even if he wanted to!" Hitodama yelled at him. "Because of you he's in even worse shape than before."

"I can't believe these guys." Neji commented after he caught a breath.

"Well… at least we did reach the village quite fast. That's good, right?" Tenten tried to look optimistic.

"Ridiculous." The Hyuga denied.

"For once I'm with you on the matter." An unfamiliar voice commented. Kotetsu and Izumo looked out to see who it was to find a tall blond with the company.

"Um… excuse me, guys? Who is the stranger here?" Kotetsu asked.

"C'mon, guys. Don't you recognize me?" Naruto asked them. They took a closer look at him. They were looking at him for a long while, but couldn't recall. Then they saw the familiar whisker-marks on the cheeks.

"Naruto?!" Kotetsu yelled in surprise.

"No way! Last I checked he was short!" Izumo followed.

Only now did Sakura and the others notice that indeed the blond was far taller. He was slightly shorter than Kakashi- only by 0.8 cm. As the pink haired kunoichi was taking a closer look at him, she blushed. Wait, what? What was she thinking? She quickly snapped out of it.

"So, are we heading into the village or what?" Naruto asked.

"Huh? Oh, right. We need to get to the Hokage Tower. Or should we head to the hospital?" Guy wondered.

The group, including Kotetsu and Izumo, slapped their faces.

* * *

**Hokage Tower**

Tsunade just entered her office. She was still half conscious. How half conscious? Well, instead of coffee, she took the ink and drank it. Then she reached for a toast, but took a file and took a bite. It was strange she didn't notice. Her eyes were still closed. Her breathing sounded more like snoring. She walked up to the window, hoping she will either fully wake up or fall asleep.

Then Shizune entered the room. "Lady Tsunade!" She screamed as she saw Tsunade sitting in a… very provoking position.

"Wha… whaddya want, Cheese-o-ne?" the female hokage asked half-conscious.

"Well, team Kakashi and Team Guy have just returned from their mission. It was a success."

"Great ta heer dut. Trow them a par-tea." She blabbered.

"There's more to it, Lady Tsunade." Shizune approached her and whispered something into her ear.

Tsunade was now more than just awake.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" she screamed alarming the whole village that was also shaking.

* * *

**Leaf Hospital**

The whole group was gathered around Kakashi, who was clearly about to wake up. He finally opened his right eye.

"Damn, Kakashi. When will you ever stop over doing it?" the enforcer asked.

"She's right, Kakashi." Guy followed. "It is unyouthful to overdo things the way you did."

"I don't usually go this far unless the situation calls for it." The silver haired jonin excused his action.

"But you did get us worried, y'know. Believe it." Naruto said.

"Please don't use whatever jutsu that was ever again." Sakura asked.

"I'll try." Kakashi replied. Everyone smiled in relief.

"Enough small talk. Let's go see Lady Tsunade." Neji suggested.

But before they could even move, the door got knocked down, revealing the said hokage standing there. The atmosphere felt heavy, making her appear like a devil.

"Alright. Where is the little blond rat?" She demanded. "When I get my hands on the little pain-in-the-ass-kid, I'm gonna make him wish he was a dog. So where is he?"

Everyone, feeling the killing intend radiating from the woman, pointed at Naruto. Tsunade looked at the young man for a moment. But eventually she recognized him.

"What the heck were you eating, kid? I remember looking down at you and now I have to look up to you." She complained, catching him by the collar and shaking him. Yes, she was furious. Then she stopped and backed her fist. Everyone was suddenly terrified. Was she going to punch him that hard? Did Naruto really get on her nerve that bad? Was she going to kill him? Were these thoughts even serious? Was the female hokage's battle cry horrifying as she sent her fist towards the blonde's face? They closed their eyes, waiting for the blow.

They opened them when there was nothing. Tsunade just pulled his head down and kissed him on the forehead. Then she hugged him. "Damn how I missed you, Naruto." She said with joy, crying. "Don't ever do something like that again. I was so worried when you left."

The tall blond scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry. It's just… that I lost my cool, after…"

"Hush." Tsunade silenced him. "Don't say anything. We both left the village to deal with our lost. It's alright." She let the boy go to look him in the eyes. "I understand. And you left rightfully fearing the council would try to have their way with you. So you travelled the world to grow stronger. And I believe you are one heck of a ninja, kid." She said with a smile- one similar to Naruto's.

Naruto smirked. "You have no idea, Granny."

A vein popped on Tsunade's temple. "You're still calling me that, you little brat?"

"Who are you calling little, you old fossil?" Naruto barked back.

The two glared at each other, causing sparks to scare the majority of the group.

"Lady Tsunade, Naruto, Please stop…" Guy tried to calm them down.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" both of them shouted at the taijutsu expert, who jumped away, trembling in fear. The two continued to glare, when a familiar voice stopped them.

"Hey there, princess." Jiraiya entered the room. "How are you? Couldn't catch you in the office- Hi, Naruto- so I went looking for you through the whole villa…" he paused. He rewinded himself to the moment he greeted the blonde. He blinked a few times. Then again. He wasn't sure if he was seeing right. He poked the blond. Then, at long last, with tears running out like a fountain…

"NAA-aaa-rutooooo- hohoho! You're back! I'm so happy!" Jiraiya was hugging him with a bear hug.

That earned him a powerful head-butt, which sent him into the wall.

"Will you cut that out, you crazy pervy-sage?" Naruto shouted, spitting along the lines. "What are you? Brain damaged?"

"That might be possible after the head-butt." The toad-sage answered with swirls for eyes.

"I am sure! I can smell him pretty clear!" The door got kicked out by none other than Kiba. The dog trainer looked around the room to find the Uzumaki. Before anything, his habits took the better of him. "Naruto! Fight me!" he dashed and…

A fist met his face. And as usual, Naruto didn't seem concerned about anything happening. "Hi, Kiba." was all he said- with a deadpan note. The Inuzuka wanted to say something, when Tsunade grabbed him by the fur on his leather jacket.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" she started scolding the Inuzuka. "This is a hospital, for crying out loud! Behave!"

"Y-yes, Lady Hokage." Kiba obeyed with fear. Then he turned to Naruto again. "But you still own me a rematch." He declared.

"Whatever." Naruto responded. Then he made a serious expression. "Jokes aside, we completed the mission, but the Akatsuki managed to extract the One-tail from Gaara. Even though we saved him, we still lost."

Everyone looked down in sadness. He did have a point. Kiba decided to lighten the mood. "Oh cheer up, guys. You still managed to save Gaara. So you haven't really lost."

"Don't you get it, Kiba? We lost." Sakura said with a serious tone, as if threatening him. "The tailed beast IS what they're after. And people like Gaara and Naruto, the Jinchuriki, are like the packages with the prize their after."

Kiba felt troubled about it. He had good intentions. But as usual, his mouth was faster than the brain. He felt real bad about it.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" Tsunade asked.

"L-lady Tsunade, could we talk in private? It's urgent." Sakura said. The female hokage looked her in the eyes for a while. It looked as if she was staring into her soul, penetrating through her physical matter. After a few seconds that seemed like hours Tsunade nodded. She and Sakura left the room. But they didn't seem to realize that Naruto was curious.

* * *

Outside the hospital, Sakura told Tsunade everything in detail about the final minutes of her fight with Sasori. The man proofed himself to have some honor or real despite for Orochimaru to reveal he had a spy in the rogue-ninja's ranks. Lady Hokage was in deep though, considering the options.

"How long we have before the meeting?" Tsunade asked, looking at her younger apprentice with a questioning look.

"Seven days." Sakura responded. "So I suggest we use the information to our advantage."

"It's risky, Sakura. We don't know how reliable this information is. It could be a trap."

"But it could also be our only hope to find Sasuke. Lady Tsunade, Master… We can't let this kind of opportunity get pass us."

Tsunade was in deep thought again. And she knew she had to think fast. The road to The Bridge of Earth and Heaven was long. But if it were to be a trap… No, it would be pointless.

"Lady Tsunade." Shizune caught her attention. "If you decide to send the team after all, I suggest you have Naruto stay in the village. I mean- if this turns out to be a trap, he will no doubt be the target."

Tsunade widened her eyes. She turned her full attention to her assistance, with a face of disbelieve. "Shizune, are you questioning Naruto's abilities?" she asked with a harsh voice.

"N-no, my lady. I'm just saying… it is best not to take the chance." The brunette explained herself, sweat dropping. Tsunade glared at her for a while. It must've been the longest while in her life. Never did Shizune feel as if the god of death was about to claim her without her notice.

"I call bull." A voice alerted the three women. The trio looked up to the roof, to find the blonde jumping down towards them. As he landed, he looked them in the eyes. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Shizune. And considering how the Akatsuki dared to attack the village to get one person, what difference does it make? I say we need another team member." He smirked at the last sentence, facing Tsunade, who smiled back before Naruto leaped into the distance.

"How typical." The female blonde commented. "He acts all tough and mature, yet he's still as hot-headed as ever. I didn't even tell him what I decided." She chuckle, while her apprentices were a bit confused. She looked up towards the Hokage Monument. She made up her mind.

* * *

**Hidden location**

The place was barely illuminated. The light seemed to dance as the dust and vapor were passing each other in the air. For the moment it was the only thing that made the place look to have any life there. Then two people appeared on the catwalk. One of them was Danzo- an elderly man dressed in white robes under the black ones. Point hit his cane hard, silencing every other note in the air, even the water dripping from the numerous pipes.

"Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchuriki to the Nine-tailed Fox, has returned after these long five years." He said without a trace of emotions. "And now that Tsunade has greeted him, I doubt she'll have him locked in the village. But perhaps we can use it to our advantage. I will learn about have intentions towards the boy. If she intends to do what I think, I will mix you into his team. You are the strongest in your age group. You will carry out your mission without a fail." The man hardened his gaze. Then he pointed his cane at the young man kneeling before him. "For this mission, your code name will be Sai."

The man raised his head. He was brunette, with pitch black eyes and white-pale skin. He was wearing black attire and a short blade on his back. "Sai? I like it." He said with a smile.

Under his bandages, Danzo seemed frustrated. "Drop that fake smile. It will do no good."

* * *

**Elsewhere**

The streets didn't change at all. They were exactly as Naruto remembered. He could remember as if it was yesterday when the ANBU chased him through these streets after he painted the Hokage Monument. Even a rusted nail was in its place. It made him feel warm on the inside. It's been five years since he ran from the village. And now he's home. Even the smell of the air seemed different.

"It's been a while, Naruto." A stoic voice got his attention. The blonde turned to the left, from where it came. There he saw a man in dark brown cargo pants and shirt under a hooded coat. Its turtle neck along with sunglasses was hiding his. Naruto walked over to him and scanned him carefully. The voice pattern seemed familiar to him, yet the blonde couldn't put it where. Then it triggered.

"Shino? Is that you?" He asked.

"It's not nice of you not to recognize your friends sooner." The Aburame commented.

"Excuse me? You're hiding your face. There's no way anyone can tell it's you." Naruto commended. Then silence fell. After a few seconds…

"You've gotten big." Shino commended, now noticing he was shorter than the Uzumaki. And the blonde was not only bigger in height. His body was that of an athlete.

"I ate a lot." Naruto commended, somehow feeling awkward.

Then he felt this strange sensation. Yet familiar. He quickly jumped away just in time to avoid three kunai. While still in midair, he reached to his pouch for his weapon. Then the same sensation assaulted him again. He pulled out his kunai just in time to block someone. As he and the attacker finally landed, only now could he tell who it was. A certain someone he could expect this from.

"Hi, Naru! How've you been?" Anko said with a sadistic smile, pressing her kunai harder and harder with each passing second. But to her surprise, she wasn't making any progress. How could it be? The answer came in a form of realization- Naruto was a giant in comparison to her. And he was aware of it.

So the blonde pushed hard enough to send her flying some distance away. Dust filled the air as she fought to maintain her balance. As it fell, Naruto could take a better look at her. "What the freaking freak hell, girl? Hello to you too…" His face turned a bit red, stopping him in his speech. Why you ask? Well, Anko was dressed now more daring than ever.

She was sporting a tan coat over a chainmail shirt, which wasn't revealing her breasts too much, but enough to show she wasn't wearing anything underneath. Aside from that, she was wearing pretty much the same set- orange skirt, shin-guards. Naruto shook his head, trying to regain his cool.

"Like what you, Naru?" Anko asked him in a VERY sweat manner. He wasn't the first to react like this upon seeing her. Almost every man in the village- ninja or not- was drooling or howling seeing her. But Naruto was the first to regain his senses so soon.

"W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING, YOU CRAZY GIRL?!" Naruto shouted as loud as he could, swiping some blood from his nose.

"What? It's my everyday attire. You like it?" She answered casually, folding her arms in a way to provoke him to look at her rack.

Naruto turned his gaze away, blushing madly. "Cut it out already. Will ya?" He asked.

"You recognized Anko so fast, Naruto." Shino commented, sulking. The two could see a dark cloud over him.

'Oh great. Just what I need.' Naruto thought.

"Well, well. Who do we have here?" A new voice said. Naruto turned around to find a man in a black, leather cloak over white shihakusho-like clothing. As Naruto looked up to see the face, he found green hair, left eye golden and right eye black. Naruto had no doubt who it could be.

"Ryu? Is that you, man?" Uzumaki asked.

"Great to see you, little man. Or should I say big man?" the Niigetsu heir corrected himself when he noticed he was slightly, just by millimeters, shorter than Naruto. "Well I'll be a kappa's uncle. You're likely fourth tallest person of Leaf's 13." He commented.

"Leaf's 13?" Naruto was confused.

"Well, yeah. You know…" Ryu tried to explain, when Anko interrupted.

"Our team, you from the rookie 9 and Team Guy. We formed a cell of our own two months after your self-proclaimed exile."

"Wasn't easy at first." Ryu continued, "But we are now one of the best cells the village had since the founding of the Enforcers- thought still behind them."

"Good for you… What's with the scars?" Naruto thought out loud.

Ryu ran his fingers over his face. There were two scars- a big one running from somewhere over his right eye to his left cheek and another, small one next to the left corner of his mouth. "A little souvenir from three years ago, from Kuro-sensei himself."

"He tried to kill you?"

"No, of course not. He was teaching me how to be a weapons master. These are just 'slight bruises' as he calls them."

The blonde a disbelieving look on his face, sweat-dropping. "Then I don't want to know what he calls…" Naruto never finished, as everyone's danger sense kicked in. they all jumped away just in time to dodge a huge, weird-looking lion. Naruto had to admit it- he was impressed seeing how Mitarashi quickly finished it of with the explosive tag she dropped under its belly. He looked around to find a silhouette sitting on the nearby roof. He narrowed his eyes. Shino! Distraction! Anko! Cover! Ryu! Flank him!" Naruto commanded loud enough only for them to hear. The three nodded and proceeded. The Aburame member released a swarm of beetles towards where Naruto pointed. A group of lion's jumped towards him, breaking through the insects, only to meet a number of shuriken and kunai in their way. To everyone's surprise, they were made of ink.

The hidden man prepared to create another beast, when he felt he should jump away. He did so just in time. The Niigetsu swordsman almost cut his head off. The pale-skinned brunette was about to call out his jutsu.

But he was right where Naruto wanted him. The man pulled out his blade just in time to block a kunai. The two hit the roof, creating a small cloud of dust. The blonde was easily overpowering him.

"Who are you?" Naruto growled, having a pain-promising look in his eyes.

The attacker just put on a smile. "You are weak."

**To be continued…**

* * *

**A.N./ **I felt down for a long while and couldn't get to this. But I'm feeling it returning lately. I'll update soon. Maybe this weekend. Please enjoy.

My cast (for some characters):

**Naruto Uzumaki**- David Kaye- Megatron/Galvatron (Beast Wars/ Beast Machines/ Transformers: Armada/Energon/Cybertron)

**Ryu Niigetsu**- Johnny Yong Bosch- Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)

**Shino Aburame**- Matt McKenzie- Auron (Final Fantasy X)

**Rock Lee**- John DiMaggio- Bender (Futurama)

**Hitodama**- Jennifer Hale

**Anko Mitarashi**- Julianne Buescher

**Kuromaru Nekokage**- Christopher Robin Sabat- Picollo (Dragon Ball Z)

**Neji Hyuga**- Kevin Sorbo- Hercules (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)


	7. Chapter 6 New Team 7

**Charter 6**

**New Team 7**

„_The team is only as good as the members trust each other. Without a trust, there can be no team."-_ Kakashi Hatake

"Did you just call me weak?" Naruto growled. This guy had some nerve stating he is weak despite their positions. Uzumaki pressed harder, forcing the pale skinned man to kneel. He could not believe this strength. He fought with everything he had, trying to push the opponent back. But there was no result. And finally he gave in. Naruto broke through his defense.

Only to find him turn into ink.

'_Ink clone?_' Naruto thought. He was fighting a clone all this time? Then his danger sense kicked in. He turned around to see three ink lions leaping onto him. They were quite close already. '_…dammit_!' Naruto thought, knowing he wouldn't dodge in time, unless… '_I have to use it._' The blond made a hand sign to build up some chakra.

But he never had the chance to do anything. An arm wielding a naginata came out of the wall, piercing the lions like stuffed pigs for a roast. Naruto was confused for a while, just as the man who created these lions. But then the wall crumbled, revealing the one holding the weapon. A man sporting baggy pants and ninja boots, who had bandages wrapped around torso up to the chest. His unzipped, sleeveless, ragged, black leather jacket was matching his overall savage appearance, especially his feline features. The bald man turned to face the blond, giving him a death promising grin.

"Hey, Naruto. Haven't seen you for a while." The man said.

"Kuromaru-sensei." Naruto greeted the weapons master with awe in his voice.

The gigantic man stopped smiling and turned to face the pale-skinned ninja, who quickly vanished. Then he faced Naruto again. "Guess I scared your fight away. Sorry 'bout that." He sealed his weapon away into a scroll and helped Uzumaki get on his feet.

Some distance away, the pale ninja was watching the blond who was now having a friendly talk with his friends. He narrowed his eyes a bit. '_I thought I had the advantage._' He thought. '_However, not only he nearly crushed me with his brute strength, he was also about to use some other ability. If it wasn't for the enforcer, I could've learned of his actual level. Despite it all, I'd better report to Master Danzo._' He backed away a few steps, before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

* * *

**Leaf Hospital**

The busty blonde was looking at the silver-haired jonin, who was badly fatigued after the mission. The mangekyo sharingan's abilities were clearly more tiring for Kakashi due to not being an Uchiha. Luckily his life was not in danger. But it's not something to take lightly. If Kakashi was to use more chakra, he would've died. Hatake opened his right eye, slowly, trying to register where he was. He looked around as much as he could. His body felt heavy like a boulder. A sign he was so weak after using his mangekyo sharingan. His body ached. No doubt he wasn't used to that power, at least yet. After a few groans, he finally looked at his visitors.

"Lady Tsunade? Lord Jiraiya?" he looked towards the window, where the Toad Hermit was sitting, as if ready to jump out. "Is…?"

"I don't think you'll be moving any time soon, Kakashi." Tsunade spoke, clearly letting the jonin know in how poor shape he was. "This is not so good considering Sakura told me about an Akatsuki spy in Orochimaru's lair." She paused to see Kakashi narrowing his eye. She wondered why. "Something wrong, Kakashi?"

"Tell me you're not sending Naruto on this one." Kakashi said in a serious manner. This perked the female kage's interest. After all, Kakashi was serious only when fighting a strong opponent.

"Why not? I'm certain he's more than strong enough to look after himself. After all, he DID beat you up pretty good 5 years ago while starting his self-proclaimed exile." She smirked remembering how beaten up the jonin was. Kakashi turned his gaze away, not wanting to be reminded of that time.

"That's not really it." Kakashi looked at Tsunade again. "When we were fighting the Akatsuki, I saw Naruto use the Nine-tails' power. If I remember correctly, whenever he does that, his darker persona tends to take over."

This got both her and Jiraiya's concern. Jiraiya jumped over to Kakashi's side. "How many tails did Naruto call?" he asked seriously. Very seriously.

"Jiraiya? Is there something that worries you?" Tsunade asked. For some reason, she felt she was going to hit him for the answer. But the perverted hermit, despite guessing it, didn't seem worried. What's more- he seemed willing to take the punch. He just sighed heavily.

"Remember how you found me and Naruto just a few days before Naruto's promotion to chunin rank?" he asked seriously and worried. Tsunade figured there must've been a connection.

"Yes. To be honest I feared neither one of you would survive. You only mentioned the Psychotic Naruto taking over."

"I only said that because I feared some of the council's lackeys would hear it and tell their superiors to use as something against Naruto. The full story is: Naruto asked me to help him train to better control the Nine-tails chakra."

"He WHAT?!" Tsunade roared.

"I had the same reaction then. But the kid's alter ego taking over was exactly the reason why he asked me for this training- to be able to use it's chakra without the Other One taking over. At the start everything seemed fine. However, when Naruto reached this certain point, HE took over. For the worst part, it seemed as if he was waiting for Naruto to reach a certain point."

"How's that, Lord Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked, fully confused.

"The Nine-tails' chakra is linked to Naruto's anger, as is, as it appears, his darker self. The angrier Naruto is, not only the more of Fox's chakra he draws but Dark Naruto also has greater power to take over his body. After Tsunade patched us up, I got a bit concerned about the seal. And I was right." he looked down.

"Jiraiya? What happened? Don't tell me…" Tsunade's eyes were filling with fear. She didn't want to hear another word…

"Naruto's seal has weakened." The hermit said, shocking the two. "Of course, I didn't leave it like that. It took me some time but I managed to find a way to restore it. Tough I had no delusions it would weaken again some time later. Although, I did not think it would be this soon. I hoped it would last for at least another five years."

"Still, you didn't take the chances. That's why you gave me that seal." Kakashi realized. But then something came to his mind. "Lord Jiraiya. Mind if I ask how many tails did Naruto have back then?"

Tsunade's face got dead serious. This got her concern. Just how serious was it?

Jiraiya growled for a second. "Only three times have I actually faced death. The first time was when I peeked at Tsunade in the hot spring. I ended up with a cracked skull, two right and all left-side ribs broken along with my both arms and internal bleeding." Tsunade just 'hmphed'. Then Jiraiya started removing his clothing. "Second time was when I got drunk and entered a woman's bath house. I ended up beaten by Fourth Hokage's wife, literally send flying through the roof and landing on the heated coal." At that point the middle aged man removed his chainmail, showing big scars on his torso. One looked as if there was a hole, the other as if a huge animal tried to cut him in half. "And the third time was back then, while training with Naruto. At that point Naruto reached…"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as her teammate paused. She saw him close his eyes. Whatever happened back then must've caused him to experienced paralyzing fear. Something an experienced ninja like her and him would not fall for so easily now.

"Reached what, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked calmly, yet with a demanding tone.

Jiraiya opened his eyes and looked at her. If fear was contagious, then it now reached her. "Four tails." He said emotionlessly. Tsunade and Kakashi's eyes widened in terror.

* * *

**Leaf Village streets**

Naruto put down another bowl of ramen. Now he waited with a smile for another bowl. Well, twenty bowls wouldn't satisfy him now. He had a long and happy conversation with Ayame and Teuchi. The two were more than happy to see the blond again and all grown up at that. Ayame couldn't help but keep blushing, which had her old man continuously tease her. Despite his incredible perception, Naruto seemed oblivious towards their act. Well, whatever, it sure is nice to be back here.

* * *

After a good meal, Naruto decided to go to his apartment. He wasn't there for years. He wondered if anyone was looking after the place. He was ready to open the door, when someone opened them. Naruto was so surprised by it he didn't notice who came out, pumping into him. For now he could only tell it was someone far shorter than him. Then he realized that he fell, with the other person on top of him. And there was also some strange sensation on his torso. Something big and soft. He looked to see who pumped into him, finding a pair of pearl-white eyes analyzing him. It was a beautiful girl with indigo hair seemingly hime-cut style, but with long bangs and some tied into a tight-long ponytail. Still, her face, which had gentle features… Wait a minute. He KNEW that innocent, polite look in these eyes.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked.

The Hyuga heiress seemed to recognize the man, as she turned impossibly red. "N-N-N-N-Na-Naruto?" She finally managed to say his name. And when she realized in what position they were… she fainted with a somewhat cute grin.

Naruto was about to freak out, when he heard some familiar voices. "Hinata? What's wrong?" A woman's voice called out. And judging by the bit of bossiness in it, the blond knew right away who it was. And fair enough he was right. "I heard your voice. Did something… ha…ppen…?" She paused, seeing her friend and the blond lying on the floor.

"Are you just gonna stand there or help me get her inside, Ino?" Naruto asked with disbelieve.

"PERVERT!" Ino yelled, ready to stomp on the guy's head. She clearly put a lot of strength into it, as the floor cracked. However, there was no sign of the man. '_He's fast._' Ino thought. That guy disappeared before her very eyes. She had no idea where he disappeared to. Until her senses told her to look up. Fair enough, the guy was hanging upside-down on the ceiling, in a crouched position, holding Hinata in his strong arms. She was about to attack again, when the male blond caught her shoulder. She knew immediately it was a shadow clone.

"Now is that any way to welcome someone home, Ino? Besides, what are you doing in my apartment?" Naruto asked.

It took her a while, but she finally took a good look at the guy before recognizing him. "Naruto?" she asked. When he nodded, she seemed to freak out. "Oh my kami! I'm so sorry! I so didn't recognize you! Wow, look at you!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I got taller and all that. Now tell me what are you doing in my apartment?" Naruto asked.

"Well… Anko and Hinata come here at least once a month to clean up. Today I just decided to help her out." Ino explained.

"Hey, Ino? What's with the noise?" an unenthusiastic voice called. Clearly Shikamaru, was looked the same as Naruto remembered.

"Yeah. Is everything alright? Did you just kill another molester?" now a powerful voice asked. When the owner of the voice came into view, Naruto couldn't believe it. Choji was like a giant with shoulder long hair, dressed in a green clothe under some armor with the Akimichi clan crest on the chest piece.

The two teammates noticed the blond and blinked a few times. "Hi, Naruto." was all Shikamaru said, before returning to into the apartment.

*WHAM*

"C'mon, Naruto. What are you standing around for? You said to help with Hinata, right?" Ino lead Naruto inside, pulling him by his arms, while Uzumaki, with a sweat drop, looked at the poor Nara, who was lying on the floor with a gigantic lump on the head, steaming.

* * *

**Hokage Tower**

Tsunade was sitting behind her desk, waiting for Sakura and Naruto. However, she was furious about something. About what? As soon as she left the hospital, she was called to the council chamber. As soon as she got there, she was surprised to find Shizune already there. It was not that much of a surprise when Koharu and Homura told her Shizune told them about Naruto. What surprised her was she insisted to talk the female hokage into limiting Naruto's leaves from the village. While the Slug Princess could understand the concern with the Akatsuki now taking action, she couldn't agree to keep him within the village. Not only was Naruto a shinobi, but also no longer a kid. She had faith he could look after himself. He was doing so for the past 5 years.

She returned to reality when she heard a knock on the door. And she calmed down when she saw it was just who she was waiting for.

"You called for us, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked.

"Well, it's about that information about the spy. I decided that since it involves Sasuke, you guys will go on a mission to intercept him." She informed them. Sakura seemed ready to dance in joy, while Naruto seemed to feel a bit troubled. "You'll go as soon as the others arrive."

"Others?" Naruto asked with pure confusion. "What others?"

"You didn't think I'll let you go all alone. Luckily I found someone to take over for Kakashi." She said. At the exact time, a man with short brown hair and a plate around his face entered.

"Yamato reporting in, Lady Hokage." The man bowed in respect.

"This is Yamato. He will be your team leader for the mission." Tsunade said. As soon as the original members shook hands with the jonin, she continued. "Also, we have someone to complete the team." She said.

"Don't tell me it's Ganju. I beg you." Sakura begged. She was with the guy on several missions after Naruto left and, well… let's just say she'd rather fight Orochimaru herself rather than be with that guy. Although, he was actually out. Ever since everyone from Team 12 got promoted, the team was disbanded. And that nuts-job was now in a Research Department. With that, he rarely really left the village for missions. Than who would…?

Her train of thoughts stopped when the door opened, revealing a pale-skinned man. Naruto's eyes widened, as he unleashed his killer intend. "YOU…?" he growled, shooting towards the man in a blinding speed, ready to punch him through the wall.

However, Tsunade managed to stop him just before he could land a punch. At the same time, Yamato held the newcomer by the wrist, as he was reaching for his blade.

"You show yourself after how you attacked me earlier this morning, bastard?" Naruto growled. With just that, he answered a question Lady Hokage was about to ask.

"Sai? Is what he said true? You attacked him?" Tsunade asked with authority in her voice. Sai relaxed.

"Yes. I wanted to see how strong he is." He answered plainly.

"You chose the wrong way, Ink-brain." Naruto growled, taking deep breathes to calm down.

"Putting that aside… I say Team 7 is now ready to go. Your mission is to head to the Heaven and Earth Bridge. The Akatsuki spy was to meet the one named Sasori there. You will, if possible, capture and bring him here. Is that understood?" Tsunade asked.

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Sakura and Yamato replied.

"As you wish, Lady Hokage." Sai answered.

"Let's do this already before I grow old." Naruto said in his usual fashion. While Tsunade felt like hitting him, it quickly passed.

'_I don't know whether to be happy he's back or kick his ass to Earth Country_.' The female kage thought.

"Meet me at the North Gate in one hour." Yamato instructed the team. Everyone dispersed.

**One hour later, North Gate**

* * *

Sai, Sakura and Naruto were waiting for the team leader. All of them were occupied with something else. Sakura pretty much just watched her two teammates, wondering how they will perform in the upcoming mission. Sai was sitting on the ground, drawing something in a small book, always emotionless. It somehow disturbed her, as she had a feeling he was soulless. Naruto was just leaning against a wall, trying hard to stay calm. But it was pretty obvious he was loosing his patience quickly. Not that she could blame him. He did complain about Yamato being late a minute ago. She wondered if the guy was any different from Kakashi-sensei then.

"Where is that guy?!" Naruto yelled, walking as if wanting to kill someone. Sakura just couldn't stand it anymore and punched him in the face, sending him flying to the wall.

"Calm down already, Naruto, you idiot!" she screeched. "Yelling won't bring him any faster!"

"But I did get here the minute I felt his killer intend." Yamato's voice came from behind her.

Sakura turned around to find the man walking up to them, holding something in his hand. "Captain Yamato? I'm so sorry for my friend here." Sakura started apologizing, picking Naruto up by the collar and started to struggle him. "You are sorry, aren't you, Naruto." She said, tightening her grip. Naruto felt as if she was rather trying to force her superiority over him. That however was a mistake.

Naruto grabbed the pink haired kunoichi by the face and tossed her to the ground with a loud thud, cracking the ground. "I'll apologize to him after I hear why he is late. And it better not involve the path of life."

Yamato scratched the back of his head. "Well… the thing is, Lady Tsunade briefed me on something related to the mission. It took longer than I thought it would." He said.

Naruto was giving the man a hard look. It felt as if he was looking for his soul to rip out. Only two seconds past, yet it felt as if hours were passing. "Whatever. Let's just get goin' already. Can we?" the blond commented. Yamato just chuckled and noted the team to move out. In the blink of an eye they disappeared.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Omake**

Hinata finally opened her eyes. She felt still so light headed. Well no wonder. She had a feeling she saw Naruto. But it couldn't be. She promised herself she wouldn't faint around him ever again. She looked around to find she was in his apartment. Yes, she came here today to clean it for him.

Her eye turned to Ino, who was looking at her with a mischievous grin. "So you're finally awake I see." She stated.

"I-Ino? W-what happened?" the Hyuga girl asked.

"Don't you recall?" Shikamaru asked.

"You pumped into Naruto." Choji explained.

"I- WHAT?!" Hinata was shocked to say the least. So it wasn't a dream.

"You looked so cute." Ino teased her. "Especially when he carried you inside."

"N-Naru-Naruto… Ca-carried me… in his arms… I was… in…. his…. Arms…?" Hinata tried to process it all, fighting the blush. Ino seemed trouble seeing this, while her teammates had a confused look on their faces.

"What's with her?" Choji asked.

Just then, Hinata turned red. And… BOOM! She overheated. While the bluish-haired Hyuga lost her conscious, Team 10 looked as if they barely survived an explosion.

"What just happened?" Shikamaru asked. Ino just sighed in disbelieve. How could boys be so oblivious?

**Omake end**

* * *

My cast:

**Choji Akimichi**- Kevin Michael Richardson

**Shikamaru Nara-** Tony Oliver

**Kiba Inuzuka**- Fred Tatasciore


	8. Chapter 7 The Bridge of Reunions

**Chapter 7**

**The bridge of reunions**

* * *

„_Sometimes the bonds are the only reason we need to save those who chose the dark path_"- Jiraiya, the Toad Sage

* * *

As Team 7 was traveling along the road in the fields, Yamato and Sakura just couldn't help but shiver. The tension was growing between two other members of the team. Sometimes she would look back at them. But she would always find the same. Naruto was glaring at the pale man, who kept his fake smile on, as if he's done nothing. Whenever he would try to say something, the tall blonde would reach for a kunai, letting him know he would use it.

The kunoichi of the team was growing weary of this. She could understand Naruto's dislike for the man, as he was, for some reason, starting to annoy her as well. Especially when he commented on Sakura appearing more like a guy than a woman, due to being more muscular than curvy. It was an exaggeration, of course. But she wouldn't take it when someone said she has no famine charm. She did hit him earlier and wanted to beat him up some more. However, Yamato separated them.

And that's what got her wondering about the current team leader. That man, Yamato, was able to use Wood Style- the form of nature manipulation that no shinobi. Save for one and only one- the First Hokage. How could it be he could use that power? Who was he exactly? Is this why Lady Tsunade assigned him as their captain?

"We'll rest here for today." The brown-haired leader said, pointing at the hot-spring resort. "You're not going to have a problem with that- are you?" he asked them, giving them a scary face.

"No!" Sakura answered quickly.

"Not at all." Naruto answered a bit freaked out.

"…" Sai answered.

"Good. Now let's move." Yamato ordered.

* * *

**Night time**

The team was finally after dinner. Naruto was sitting in the garden, in deep thought. He looked at the stars, as if hypnotized by their beauty. Then he sensed someone approach him. He looked to find Sakura. He was expecting her to start making lectures about his annoyance with Sai in the hot spring, after the guy made a comment about his manhood and… well, you know. He made quite a ruckus. He was expecting her to deliver him a punch. He knew she would.

Surprisingly, she only sat next to him and joined him in star-gazing.

"If I remember correctly, you never bothered watching the stars." She recalled to when they were younger. "You would always say the stars have nothing to offer."

Naruto looked back at the sky. "When I left the village, watching them was the only way I would fall asleep, when I grew tired of crying myself to bed."

"Is that so?" she asked. Then the two were silent for a long while. None said anything. She looked at him. She was surprised. This Naruto was so mature. He was so quiet. She blushed. But quickly shook the thought off. Then she remembered **him**. "What do you think he's doing?"

"You mean Sasuke?" Naruto asked, receiving a nod for an answer. "Who knows? He's no longer like what I remember. He's probably even more different than when I met him…"

**Flashback**

_Naruto- age 6- fell on his knees, coughing a small bit of blood. The three other boys around him were laughing at him._

"_You want to become a powerful ninja?" one of the boys, likely the leader of the group, mocked him. "You're stupid."_

"_That's right." The other boy laughed. "He must be real stupid." Then he kicked the blond in the gut. The three were about to beat him up, when someone showed up._

"_Three against one, weakened kid?" the new-comer commented, getting the gangs attention. "That's hardly fair. Are you three too pathetic to pick a fair fight?"_

_The three, and Naruto, turned to see a boy with raven black hair, looking at them with a confident look in his eyes. The bullies surrounded him, eyeing him arrogantly._

"_And who are you, idiot?" the boss asked, not really caring for who the new guy was._

"_I'm Sasuke of the Uchiha clan." He answered, ready to fight. "Though I doubt you have the brain to understand that."_

_Two of the group seemed to freeze. They knew very well who the Uchiha were- one of if not the strongest clans in the Leaf Village. They took a step back, while their leader just folded his arms. Whether he was confident or foolish- even the wisest could only guess._

"_So what if you're an Uchiha?" the boy asked arrogantly._

"_You think you can take me on, idiot?" Sasuke asked._

_After a few minutes, Sasuke help the blond get up. He eyed the boy to see if he was alright. Aside from some bruises, he couldn't find any signs of any more serious injuries- not that he knew what to look for. "Are you alright?" he asked. When he received a nod, he continued with a smile. "Good to hear. I'm Sa…"_

"_I heard you the first time!" Naruto answered with a hostile tone, pushing the Uchiha kid away from himself. He felt somewhat uncomfortable with what he was about to say. "Th-thanks, I guess." It was the first time someone, aside from the masked-men, came to help him. Someone who wouldn't look down at him._

"_Why are you so unfriendly?" the brunette asked. Naruto glared at him._

"_Because you're probably just pretending to like me. Everyone's like this. You're…" the Uzumaki kid never had the chance to finish. He started coughing again. This time there was a huge amount of blood running down to the ground, as he collapsed to his knees. Sasuke ran over to him. The boy got terrified when he saw the blond just wouldn't stop._

"_Help! Somebody, please, help!" Sasuke started to call, before dragging him. After a few seconds, an ANBU wearing a weasel mask appeared before him. Sasuke seemed relieved. "Big brother! Help! This kid… he won't stop bleeding! Help him!"_

_Sasuke's brother nodded and picked the blond kid up, ready to run. Before Naruto lost conscience, he looked at Sasuke. This boy was different._

**Flashback end**

"That's how we first met." Naruto sighed. "I haven't seen him again until the academy."

"You make it sound as if you were an ass, and he was the friend-maker." Sakura commented. "What happened to change you guys so much?"

Naruto's smile disappeared as his head dropped. "Sasuke had me see the world in a bit brighter colors. I stopped looking into becoming a legendary ninja for power. I wanted acknowledgement since then. As for Sasuke, well- the Uchiha Massacre." He looked at his teammate. And he saw what he expected to see- she was shocked. "Sasuke was bitter after that night. He may have turned into an ass, but was still one of the first true friends. We still would look after one another. Therefore I believe he just needs someone there to open his eyes."

Sakura stared at him. Then she smiled. That man had hope for their teammate. It made her happy to hear that. But also sad. He wouldn't try and save Sasuke for her sake. No. He was doing it because Sasuke saved him.

Naruto stood up and made his way to his room. Sakura looked at him walking away. Something felt strange about him. Uneasy. Heavy.

* * *

**The Bridge of Heaven and Earth**

The team finally arrived at the spot. The bridge looked so simple, like any bridge. However, it had some sort of decorations. There were far more robes in the structure. The wood had some writings carved in it. And the pillars to which the robes were tied looked more like statues of some heavenly beings. Since it was in their sight, the team hid in the bushes.

"So we finally made." Yamato commented. Then he reached for his pocket and pulled out a photo of Sasori's puppet. "Sakura. Hold it." He instructed the girl. The kunoichi did as told and Yamato made a hand seal before performing a transformation. When the smoke cleared, he looked just like the Akatsuki member in his puppet. "Well, how do I look?"

"Not bad…" Sakura commented, analyzing transformed jonin. "But the face… should be more menacing."

"Right." Yamato corrected it. "Now for the voice. Let me know when I speak with the proper tone." Then he started to talk. Yamato was talking some meaningless stuff, like how to make an onigiri, a duck soup and so on. But that wasn't the point. It was the voice that mattered. He kept changing it, until…

"Yes. That's it. You've got it." Sakura said.

"Why thank you, Sakura. I'm glad you appreciate it." The team captain, pretending the puppeteer thanked. Then Naruto joined.

"No, that's not it." He said. "From what I caught, the Doll man speaks like an impatient, ever-annoyed man."

"Oh, you're right, of course." 'Sasori' corrected himself at the last word. "I forgot to consider the voice pattern of the man and habits."

Sakura clapped for the captain. "That's it. Now it's perfect."

"Just the man the spy is to meet." Naruto nodded with his famous grin.

"Now then, wait in the hiding for my signal. Then, and only then, jump out and get the spy." Yamato instructed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must meet with my agent." He turned and made his way towards the bridge.

After 'Sasori' arrived, it took twenty more minutes before someone arrived. A hooded figure it was, wearing a dark cloak. The person looked around, obviously cautious. The spies were always paranoid about being tailed. The person got on the bridge and approached the Akatsuki member.

"You're late." The puppeteer said annoyed. "You know I hate it when people make me wait."

The spy smiled. "I'm sorry, Master Sasori. Still… I'm happy to see you haven't changed." The spy commented, taking off the hood. To Naruto and Sakura's shock, it was a familiar face. A cold shiver ran down their spine. The blond jinchuriki was having a hard time suppressing his lust for blood. He could feel his anger building. If there was one person he did not want to see, it was him- Kabuto Yakushi.

"So, what do you have to report?" 'Sasori asked.

"Straight to the point I see." Kabuto commented, making a serious face. "Orochimaru is preparing Sasuke. Considering the damage the Uchiha took six years ago, while defecting from the Leaf, I guess he'll be ready as Orochimaru's new body in about three months, at most."

"So, where is he now?"

"Which? Orochimaru? Or Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Both!" 'Sasori asked with his voice on edge. "Tell me where are they right now!" '_This is getting dangerous_.' Yamato thought. '_I don't really know how well the two know each other really. I can't let him have the time to see through me_.'

"Orochimaru always has Sasuke by his side." Kabuto answered. "He rarely ever leaves him. It seems as if he wasn't taking the chance that someone would try to kill him behind his back."

"So they're in the same hideout right now?" 'Sasori' asked.

"Yes."

"Where exactly?"

"Before I tell you, Master Sasori, I must ask of you…" Kabuto reached out his hand. "Do you have what I asked of you?"

'This is bad. Sakura didn't mention anything about a delivery.' Yamato tried to stay calm, trying to figure out how get out of this mess.

"Sakura? Didn't Sasori mention anything about delivering something to his spy?" Naruto asked his teammate.

"No. He didn't say anything." She answered.

Naruto cursed under his breath. "He either set us up or…" his eyes widened in consideration. Sakura noticed that. And while she wanted to ask about the alternative, she realized what he wondered about.

"Kabuto must've figured something's not right." she whispered. "This might be a trap."

"Yes, I've got it… right… here…" 'Sasori' reached for a kunai. He had no choice. He had to take Kabuto and bring him to the Hidden Leaf for interrogation.

But when he was about to strike, there were snakes all around him. The wood style user jumped out of the disguise just in time before the limbless reptilians could devour him. As he landed a few feet away, he saw someone approaching. Someone he hoped not to see. The most dangerous man to appear.

Orochimaru smiled at him.

"So, Tsunade send you, my former experimental subject, here." He commented with his infamous, sadistic grin. After he licked his lips, he continued. "I must congratulate you. Since you're here, disguised as my former partner, I take it you killed him. Or is it the handiwork of one of your teammates hiding in the bushes?"

'_So he figured us out_.' Yamato growled mentally. Their plan has been seen through. The captain gave out the signal. The team, like rain drops, appeared on the bridge, between Yamato and Orochimaru and his right-hand-man. The two of the ladder just smiled.

"Here are some familiar faces…" Orochimaru seized his commentary when he saw a mass of blond, spiky hair. He looked more closely at the young man, until he recognized him. "Oh my… If it isn't the Leaf's jinchuriki. My how you've grown." He mocked. He saw Naruto glared back at him, the serpent-like sage continued. "I wonder, however, how you sport in comparison to my Sasuke."

Naruto felt cold in his blood. He felt like hurting someone. "What did you say?" he asked from between his teeth. "Did you just…?"

"Don't get me wrong, little Naruto. I know you were training under my failure of a teammate, Jiraiya, and travelled the world. I have no doubts you must've grown strong. But I was training Sasuke for all the six passed years. And he's nothing like Anko, who, even though is the only living breed of my super soldier army, is still trash. He is my greatest creation."

Now Naruto was really seeing red. He could somehow tolerate what Orochimaru was thinking about Sasuke. But Anko, who was like a sister to him- that pushed it.

"Didn't Sasuke come to you injured?" Naruto asked growling. As he was about to continue, his voice seemed to be changing. "Who do you think got your precious little Uchiha into such a pathetic state, huh? Tell me where he is, and I'll gladly show you how much worse I can get him."

"If you wish to know where Sasuke is, why don't you force it out of me?" Orochimaru mocked him. "That is… IF you can."

Like on cue, Naruto disappeared, creating a strong wind that blinded his teammates. A loud thunder was all Kabuto could catch. As for Orochimaru- there was only a red blur just before he got hit in the face. And the blow was powerful, sending him across the forest, as if he was nothing more than an insect facing a hurricane. When the ones remaining in the bridge returned to their senses, they found Naruto standing where Orochimaru was before. The thing is he seemed to be on fire. His stripes were glowing red. A tail formed. No one dared to say a thing. The air felt different. There was great power radiating from the blond. Power and malice. The air felt like fire itself. Every breath felt as if the lungs were filling with ice. The wind felt like the roughest sandstorm ever. And every part of their body felt as heavy as the body itself.

"My, my. You've grown quite nicely as a jinchuriki, Naruto." Kabuto commented mockingly.

However, the answered seemed to rather disturb him more. "Oh, you're right, you fraud." Naruto said with a deeper, more malicious voice. "We've grown just fine with this power. AND WE LOVE IT!" He turned towards him and the team from the Hidden Leaf Village. And the face they all saw terrified them. His eyes were blazing bloody red. His whisker-marks were thicker. And his smile- was that of a psychopath. His face… demanded blood. "You have no idea what's it like. You seek aimlessly for power of gods, while the power to rival them is in our hands ever since we were born!"

Kabuto seemed able to collect himself. He recognized that face, that persona. That was the Naruto who beat him years ago. "You really are a monster, Naruto."

"Do not call us by that name, Fraud. We are not the Idiot. We prefer a different name if you have to address us with one. We are… Menma." The mad blond said, preparing the rasengan as well as projecting the second tail. "And you will address us as such… because we demand it."

**To be continued…**


	9. Chapter 8 Rage named Menma

** Chapter 8**

**Rage named Menma**

* * *

"_People speak of justice, love and mercy. And yet they have no intention of showing it. Why then care to show them any?_"- Hitashi Hyuga

* * *

The air felt worse and worse with each passing second. It was beginning to get impossible to breath. She had no idea as to how could she still be conscious. She looked around with her now teary, emerald eyes to find the others present here were facing the same problem. Not even Kabuto was taking this well. Sakura looked at the source of this, who was radiating with such malice her body seemed to resist her will. There she saw her blond teammate. He was engulfed in flames- no, red chakra which was also forming two tails. His stripes, which were now glowing red, shifted. And were now also on his left arm and shoulder. His signature foxy grin was not however present on his face. No, instead there was a grin of a hardcore psychopath, taking joy seeing them struggling for normal, cool air to breathe with. No, he would not take their lives just yet. He wants them to suffer first.

"Well, what's the matter, little boy?" the blond addressed Kabuto, dispelling the rasengan. "Can't handle this little pressure? Or is it that your brain can't process or name?"

"M-M-mm-Men…ma?" Kabuto managed somehow to say the word, before giving him his smile. "Interes-ting name… you chose. But… y-you're still… just a…a-a loo-oose-r."

"Us? A loser?" Menma asked in amusement. Then he snickered. Kabuto felt disturbed. Very disturbed. "We are Menma! We are power. Power! POWER OF THE IMMORTAL RACE! Our wounds heal before they can bleed. Our senses are as sharp as if we were the world itself. Our presence- a volcano. The stomp of our feet- an earthquake. And our power…" he paused creating a small orb in the palm of his hand. "DEATH!" he shot it towards the cliff side. A few seconds past before hitting the target. A huge explosion took place. The shockwave was so strong it was a miracle the bridge was only swinging back and forth. "Well, where is your superiority now, Fraud?" Menma asked, not really caring whether he would get an answer or not.

Sakura stared at this 'Menma'. He was terrifying. What she saw was nothing like the blond she knew all these past years. This was an even much darker version of Sasuke in his curse-seal form. No, even darker. It was pure hatred incarnated. She recalled what Lady Chiyo told her about the jinchuriki. Now that she was in a presence of one using the tailed beast's power, she could tell why they were hated. There was no way for anyone to control such power.

He eyed the blond before them. It was just like Lord Jiraiya explained. Yamato wanted to suppress this power now before that chakra started to do harm to Naruto. But, with Kabuto here it was dangerous. Not to mention what Jiraiya explained about the evil personality of the boy. He needed a plan. But the more he thought about it the more difficult it seemed. Then his train of thoughts stopped. He and the others looked to find Orochimaru approach the bridge. Menma merely turned to find the serpent-like ninja in the corner of his eye.

"Now I sssee why she ssssend you with him." Orochimaru said. Then he raised his head, revealing that his face was a mask. Underneath it there was a face of a young, pale skinned man with a tattoo just above his eyebrow. "Thisss may prove interessssting."

"Took you long enough, Serpent." Menma commented with calm, yet insulting tone. "We thought you'd show up earlier."

"My, what an interessting brat you are. *hiss*" he reached for his face and corrected his mask, which fixed itself, appearing as Orochimaru's original face. "Now I really would like to know whiccchhh one of you iss ssstronger. You or my Sssassuke?" He said with a wide smile.

Menma narrowed his eyes hard, glaring at the fallen of the Three. Then he turned fully to face him. "Tell us, oh fallen one." He started, getting Orochimaru drop his smile a little. "Why should we consider the spoiled Uchiha filth of any true threat, when his master can be so easily sucker punched?" he smiled sinisterly.

"Because you know how badly Sasuke wants to kill his brother." Kabuto began explaining. "Therefore, it is only natural for student to become stronger than the master."

"Hencccce forth, you have merely been lucky to run into me rather than my Sssassuke."

"And it came to benefit him, boy. Not that you'd understand. After all, you see us only for the bad guys. You don't want to see that Sasuke came on his own free will. You're just a child with no understanding for this world."

"SHUT UP!" Sakura shouted. "Don't you dare insult Naruto! You don't know how he feels, you four-eyed freak! So don…"

"You are right, Fraud." Menma caught everybody's attention. "We don't understand the situation. But do tell us- what's the point of understanding things that don't really matter?" Kabuto started sweating cold. Somehow he didn't like what the blond said. Maybe it was foolish to provoke him. "He came to Orochimaru because he's a spoiled brat who wasn't satisfied no matter how much the fools in the Leaf spoiled him. By the way, how can you expect him to be stronger than us, when we crippled him so badly?" Menma's look turned again to that of a psychopath, as his chakra started to spike again. "Now THIS IS POWER!" he said. And his cloak formed a third tail. In a matter of seconds, there was an even stronger wind blowing, originating from the jinchuriki.

Sakura curled, trying to ignore this new sensation. Before it felt like a sandstorm, but now it felt as if it was flames that were hitting her. She looked around when she heard a hiss. The whole bridge was steaming? It wasn't just the bridge as looked more. Even her clothes. As she felt their warmth she knew what it was. Naruto/ Menma was generating heat.

Kabuto kept eying the jinchuriki. As the blond seemed to relax and focus his full attention on Orochimaru, it was his chance. The silver haired man charged some chakra into his hand and dashed towards his pray intending to finish this. He moved in a blur, so silent not even Team 7 could register he moved. But as was about to deliver the blow, he got caught by the throat. To the surprise of everyone, Menma didn't even turn around. His eyes were still focused on Orochimaru. Kabuto intended to strike his arm instead, but it was caught just inches from his skin. And before anyone could gasp, the jinchuriki crushed his wrist, causing Kabuto to scream in pain.

"How pathetic." Menma commented. "Did you really think an insect like you could defeat us? Be gone…" he widened hiss eyes. And Kabuto felt this strange sensation… of repulsion.

Everything around Menma was pushed aside. He tensed his muscles so much, he cause a powerful shockwave, sending Orochimaru's right-hand man flying. Sakura got hit in the head by the flying man, while Yamato and Sai fought to maintain balance. Menma turned towards Orochimaru, who jumped of the falling bridge, giving the jinchuriki his signature smile.

"Where do you think you're going?" Menma asked, reaching his chakra arm for him. He didn't catch the man, but he caught the tree. So he pulled himself back up and at the former Leaf ninja, laughing insanely.

* * *

Kabuto was healing his wounds. It wasn't easy though. He was aching all over. Blood was rushing from nearly every wound. Probably half the bones in his body were broken. And he could tell he was suffering a concussion. He looked towards the bridge. When Menma send him flying, the silver haired man crashed through a number of trees. He smirked to himself. '_Such power_.' He thought. '_No wonder they want it. Still, given what I just experienced, it's going to be hard no matter what kind of preparations they'll make_.'

* * *

Yamato finally managed to find his footing. Seeing as Naruto… fix that, Menma was going after Orochimaru on the other side, he was about to fallow, when he felt the remains of the bridge would collapse. He performed a few hand seals and some wooden pillars came out of the cliff side, supporting the structure. Then he noticed Sakura, who was slowly sliding off. He cursed under his breath. This was the worst possible moment for her to be out cold. Before he managed to support the part where the pink haired woman was lying on, she fell. He panicked… Until he noticed Sai standing on the edge. "Sai! Save Sakura!" he ordered, as the pale-skin brunette jumped off, painting something on his scroll.

"Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll Animation!" he called. The bird he painted came to life, separating itself for paper and growing in size. Sai landed on its back and flew upward towards Sakura.

He flew pass her.

"Damn it…!" Yamato cursed. He focused his chakra into one of the pillars, making it grow a wine that chased after the young medic ninja. It wrapped itself around the girl's legs just in time before she fell out of reach. The captain sighed in relief. Then turned his gaze at the one who left her to fall.

Sai flew pretty high and was now searching for his target. But couldn't see Orochimaru or Naruto. And he wouldn't have found them if it wasn't for an explosion a bit further. He made his bird fly in that direction. But as soon as it listened to his order, he felt disturbed.

He felt somehow things would take the turn for the worst.

* * *

Orochimaru jumped onto the nearest branch. Bleeding heavily from where his arm once was. Numerous claw marks covered his body, tearing his outfit. His skin was burned. All that from one well played combo. He looked down, to find his opponent. The blond was still in his three-tailed state. But unlike in his two-tails form, not only the brat was nearly entirely red. He appeared to be formed of flames himself, rather than covered with it. The member of the Three smirked however. He found himself curious. He opened his mouth, as if a sudden pain hit reached him. But instead of a cry, there was a hand. In a manner of few seconds, the leader of the Sound ninja came out unharmed, giving his smile to the blond, who merely looked at him. '_So, he can regenerate. Interesting_.' Menma thought.

"This iss quiet amusssing, boy." Orochimaru stated. "Sstill, if this iss the full exxxtend of your power… then you won't beat Ssssasuke."

Menma hardened his glare before he looked down, tightening his fists. He seemed ready to explode with rage. But all Orochimaru got was…

A laugh.

A laugh of a madman. Menma was now whole heartily please to hear him. His psychotic laugh echoed through the area, making the serpentine man look at the young man with suspicion. "So I'm still of no challenge? Are you not entertained yet?! EXCELLENT! THIS IS JUST THE EXCUSE I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!" Menma shouted. "Well then… let me show you how a real IMMORTAL FIGHTS, INSECT!"

And the flames vanished. The blond seemed to return to normal. An expression of exhaustion and shock was on his face while his body collapsed. First, he fell onto his knees, then onto his chest. Orochimaru looked at the brat with a disappointed look. The boy failed him. Apparently this was as far as he could go.

**The mindscape**

_Naruto could finally feel something. It was not however relief he felt. No, far from it. He opened his eyes to find himself in chains, kneeling on the floor. His legs beneath the water along with chain attached to his collar. He looked before himself, wondering how he grew this weak. How could he loose himself to his darker side?_

"_It's your entire fault!" he heard someone yell. A child's voice. He looked around to find his younger self. The Genin Naruto was glaring hard at him, with tears in his eyes. "It was because of you that we're in this mess!"_

"_No…" Naruto whispered. Then he gathered his strength. "It's not my fault."_

"_It is! You should've been stronger!" Genin Naruto blamed him. "Maybe then Sasuke wouldn't look down at us! If you were stronger you'd be able to bring him back!"_

"_You don't know that!"_

"_But you'd still be able to prevent it." Another voice caught his attention. When the blond turned, he saw himself back from when he made chunin, also glaring at him, covered in blood. "Granny would have told us about our family then. The council would shut their traps and let us know about our family! AT LEAST WE'D BE ABLE TO SAVE HER!" Teen Naruto barked, making the blond remember how his sister died. That day always haunted him. The death of Tokoyo was for him the only real moment in his life when he doubted in anything- the Will of Fire, the loyalty of the village, Granny protecting him from the council when they demanded harsh treatment, everything._

_He remembered his fight with Sasuke and how he said that the village is weak, having nothing to offer. Was he right? Could he have foreseen this? Then there were the words of Hitashi, the man who raised his sister: "As long __as you stay in this village you will never be allowed to taste happiness__." It pained the blond._

_Could it be that even after all these years of travelling the world he was just delusional to have gained any strength?_

_His head dropped as if in defeat. Behind him, a pair of huge, blazing eyes stared at him, as the blond seemed to be sliding towards him. Another chain came out of the water, attached to the collar. It was held by Menma, who was smiling as sinisterly as ever._

"_Do it." He said. When Naruto was within the cage, the Nine-tails grabbed him, channeling his chakra into him. Then that chakra channeled down the chain towards Menma, whose smile was growing even wider._

**The real world**

(* Ghost Rider soundtrack- The West Was Build On Legends* aka transformation theme)

The blonde's eyes widened, as his body started to smoke. He got up on his legs with some trouble, trembling, showing signs of pain. Orochimaru eyed the boy, wondering what he hoped to accomplish in such poor state. He saw the blond grabbing himself, as if an unbearable pain was rushing through his body. The young man was struggling to walk forward. And it was then that Orochimaru noticed the plants around him starting to burn. What was going on here? He looked at the blond more, who was trembling even more, growling and grunting, as his skin seemed to be burning off.

Then did Orochimaru feel it- this outburst of chakra as Naruto cried. The flames reappeared, forming four tails. The black smoke was surrounding him, as the blond was crying in pain. after a few seconds though, it turned to laughter. The jinchuriki showed his face again. This time with the most psychotic smile Orochimaru had ever seen. And it disturbed him. The man noticed as his nails were now real, razor sharp claws. He stabbed them into his left arm and made deep cuts, even more serious then a kunai would. Some muscles seemed to fully regenerate, while in some spots there was blood-red chakra. The bones were growing out from his elbows and back, looking like spikes. Orochimaru was getting nervous.

* * *

Yamato sensed a disturbing chakra signature. It had to be Naruto. Then he felt Sakura getting up, rubbing her head in pain. "Huh? C-captain Yamato? What… happened?"

"It's Naruto… um, Menma's doing." He explained shortly.

"Menma?" she asked confused. But then she remembered. "Where is he?" she cried.

"Don't worry. I'll see to them. Wood Style: Wood Clone Jutsu!" Yamato called, as branches started to grow out of his body, wrapping around each other until they form a humanoid form. In a matter of seconds, it gained on details, becoming Yamato. Clone Yamato looked at the original. "You know what to do."

"Right!" the clone answered and jumped to the other side of the destroyed bridge, using the wood style to make it. But as he landed, another explosion took place. And this one was massive in power. "Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall!" the clone called just in time and created a dome-like structure around 'him'. The clone looked behind, to find the original doing the same.

* * *

Sai was met with a powerful shockwave that eradicated his ink bird. The man was falling, but was always prepared for this. He managed to land between the trees.

* * *

After a few seconds, Clone Yamato could tell there was nothing more incoming. Though he was frightened a bit. Some stone and wood managed to pierce his dome. He canceled the jutsu and, ignoring the devastation around him, leaped forward, landing on the highest tree.

What he saw shocked him.

He did not trouble with the wreckage earlier. But the one he saw now was on the whole different level. A huge crater, covered in dust cloud and flames. The earth was scorching, turned to glass in places.

Orochimaru barely lifted himself, burned a bit. He smiled at the destruction around him. "Thissss boy… He amusesss me to no end…." He whispered to himself.

Then he felt another chakra spike. He looked towards the centre of the crater, as the dust was blown away. There stood a monstrous humanoid. It seemed composed of red black flames entirely, with a fox back and four tails. It seemed to be well adept to walking as a human as well as an animal. At places it seemed to have something akin to a human skin, wearing it like poor clothing. There were even some on its face, like a mask that was about to fall. The serpentine ninja had no delusions about the situation. Now he was battling a real demon.

The jinchuriki before him entered a Four-tails form.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**A.N.: **I honestly hope you are enjoying yourselves. Well, the next update will be as soon as I'm done. In the mean time, you may also enjoy my doujin on my deviantart site. Please review.

* * *

**My cast:**

**Menma**- Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor in various DC animations.)

**Kabuto Yakushi**- Will Friedle (Terrance 'Terry' McGinnis in 'Batman Beyond')


	10. Chapter 9 Jinchuriki vs Orochimaru

**Chapter 9**

**Jinchuriki vs Orochimaru**

* * *

„_There is nothing more terrifying than a monster, the creature of incomprehensible power. Ironically, humans are the very monsters they fear._"- Orochimaru

* * *

The two stood before each other. The transformed jinchuriki took a deep breath, as the 'flames' faded. Most of his body was still made of blood red chakra. But otherwise, aside from the human skin still in its place, there was something that would turn anyone disgusted. There were muscles exposed. Even some bones fashioned its body, like spikes. And the head was deformed by the jaw, which seemed to be stretched forward a bit, nearly even with the nose.

As the humanoid snarled, Orochimaru licked his lips, smiling. Such bloodlust… he has never sensed one on this level. It was marvelous. Like a legion of blood thirsty S-rank shinobi in one person facing him. It has been so long, so many decades, since he last felt a shiver like that run down his spine. So many decades since he felt such superior killer intend towards him. Yes, this was what he needed to feel alive.

Both the fighters didn't notice, or didn't seem to bother with, two people looking down at them from the high ground. One of them was Sai, Danzo's agent, who could finally get down with the mission. However, it would appear he miscalculated. The tension in the air was so dreadful he doubted about doing anything. And what if things go the other way than he thought? Yamato will surely get to him. He needed to consider the possibilities to get out of this.

The other person was Clone Yamato send by the original to suppress the Nine-tails' chakra, and thus the Menma persona. But from what he could see, suppressing him was out of the question, at least for the time being. Especially since the jinchuriki was fighting Orochimaru, the fallen of the Legendary Three. The man considered to be a monster… aside from Kuromaru that is. The clone looked more carefully at his team member. Menma looked just like Jiraiya described- a miniature-humanoid Nene-tails. How could he be still moving? How could his body handle such chakra? Or rather… how was it his body hasn't disintegrated yet?

Orochimaru stood up on his legs, eyeing his opponent with a mocking smirk. "Ssso, you deccided to raissse up the sstakessss, eh?" the man asked. Being giving an answer in a form of a growl, he took a deep breath.

"It would appear you losst your reasson for that of a mindlessss beassst, boy." Orochimaru stated, barfing out a large number of serpents. The ground between the two turned dark from their sheer number. They were all crawling at full speed towards the humanoid, extending the kusanagi blade from their mouths. Orochimaru smiled wickedly. "Too bad you won't get a cchancccce to facce Sssassuke after all, brat!" He called as the snakes were about to stab the jinchuriki.

The humanoid merely raised its arm up above its head and hit the ground, causing a great explosion. A dome of light was all anyone could see. A thunder was all that captain Yamato, Sakura and Kabuto could hear. The serpents were all incinerated. Orochimaru seemed unfazed. But the jinchuriki just stood up on two legs, standing like an ape rather than human, and 'glared' at him.

"Is that it?" it asked, surprising the serpentine ninja. "You are Orochimaru of the Legendary Three. Fighting us should be as easy as breathing or talking. And yet… you can't even land a simplest blow on us?" It turned towards the bridge's direction, clearly having no care for Orochimaru's presence. "Since you can't even touch us, no matter what you try, then the Uchiha filth is unworthy of our acknowledgement. We, Menma, will NOT waste our power for filth. Neither you, nor him, have even the fracture of the potential Muramasa the Tengu had." Then Menma turned his back towards the man, calmly walking away. "We've lost our interest. You've ruined everything. We're going to deal with the Leaf and Akatsuki. They are clearly the only ones worth the interest."

As it was taking its leave, Menma's senses went mad. It looked down, to find a giant serpent coming up from underground, swallowing it. Orochimaru chuckled at the few. Then he snapped his fingers, and hundreds of kusanagi blades came out from the serpent's body. The man laughed, having killed the jinchuriki. How could he be weak, if he was still the one to kill?

The answer came in a form of his serpents head disconnected from the rest of its body. A red blur flew down to the ground, landing the moment the summoned creature puffed into a smoke. Menma was unharmed.

"Foolish mortal. Every bit as ARROGANT as on the day you gained this world for your own!" Menma growled.

"What a nicccce ssspeech, brat!" Orochimaru mocked, unfazed by the jinchuriki's words. "But you sseem to forget whom you're fighting with. I am Orochimaru! The one to gain immortality! The one to massster all the jjutssu of thisss world! I am the abssssolute power in comparisson to you!"

"Naïve like a child. That, which you believe to be great power, is still nothing. You mortals merely scratched the surface of a true jewel." Menma said, reaching its arms forward, towards Orochimaru. Then they were engulfed in flames. Orochimaru's instincts forced him to jump to his left. Orochimaru couldn't grasp why his body moved on its own, until he looked at where he once stood. An arm made off lava was coming out of the ground. But it didn't stop there. It was now chasing after him. He kept dodging the arm. Then he had to avoid the second one. And if it wasn't for his senses, he would've been now caught by the Menma. Orochimaru shot a serpent at it from his sleeve. But as it wrapped itself around the humanoid, it started to burn away, making the mad creature smile like a murderer smiles to his prey after the latter's futile attempts. But Orochimaru wasn't that weak. He opened his mouth and escaped, leaving his skin behind. In fact, he used what he could of his jutsu, to have Menma collide with those lava arms. And the collision took place. The jinchuriki was now in the being burnt by its own attack. All that talk and still it was a mortal who won. Orochimaru turned away and made his way towards the bridge, wanting to capture the others.

* * *

Sai was a bit on edge. He was certain a transformed jinchuriki would be more than a match for the twisted sage. Especially since Menma was clearly highly intelligent. But now he was gone. Danzo, his master, won't be really pleased with the news. Then again, he could proceed with his mission. Though first, he needed to take care of the captain's clone. He couldn't afford to let it spoil the plans. He needed to think about this cautiously.

* * *

But then everyone in the area felt the air felt the same: heavy. Before Orochimaru knew it, the arms made of pure, red chakra appeared above him, ready to smash him. The serpentine ninja managed to avoid being crushed by jumping to his left. Unfortunately, he did get a scratch on his calf. Not much of an injury he though… until he felt a burning pain, as his leg began to burn to dust. Being disturbed at first, Orochimaru calmed himself and barfed a snake out of his mouth, out of which he came out. As his injured skin, with the snake, burned away, he looked towards where the jinchuriki was supposed to be burned. What he found was the creature standing calmly, unharmed and smiling.

"Did you really think we would get injured by our own attack, insect?" Menma ask mockingly, ready to strike again. "We, the immortals, are not as fragile as you mortals are." And with the last word, his arms shot with flames, as the air in front of Orochimaru ignited, revealing his arms flying towards him. The man with golden eyes was however prepared. He would not be caught by this freak. He dashed by the arms and towards the humanoid. He was going to deal with this thing. He would not fall to a human possessed by a demon. He was Orochimaru of The Legendary Three. The one who would learn all there is to learn about the world. The one who would become immortal. So his legs turned into a serpent's tail as he dodged the fiery limbs, preparing to strike the beast. Menma got ready to bite his throat, only to meet a clone made out of snakes. The jinchuriki got confused for a second. A second long enough for the leader of the Sound Village to deliver the blow.

The punch was very strong. Even in this form, the jinchuriki had no choice but to be affected. Orochimaru was ready to deliver another blow, when all the red chakra and flames separated from the burned flesh and bones, as if it was another being. The 'second' torso was made out of pure chakra of the tailed beast. And it CUT the pale ninja in two with no effort. The 'physical' body finally found it footing and stared at the enemy, as the 'chakra' torso fused back. Orochimaru laid on the ground in two. He was finally beaten.

Then why was Menma still looking at the corpses so hard?

The answer came in the form of snakes coming out from the halves. They all crawled towards each other and wrapping, pulling the body together. As the body was made one again, life seemed to return. Orochimaru was not someone who would die even from the wounds as serious as these. And to the ninja's displeasure, Menma was clearly aware of that.

* * *

Sakura and Yamato could only hear another blow. '_What was going on out there?_' they wondered. Who was winning? Was Naruto alright? Instead of just sitting there, they should go and help. They knew they should. However, this was a fight on a different level. There was one of the Legendary Three fighting with a jinchuriki in its transformed form. On top of that- the jinchuriki was gone insane now. Even if it wasn't actually insane, it'd likely few them for enemy and kill them. Things were just getting worse.

"Well, this is getting intense, if I do say so myself." Kabuto commented as he exited the bushes, getting their attention. "This is really now a fight between monsters rather than ninja."

Sakura glared at him. Kabuto was still so insolent, despite being still so weak after that attack from Menma. Then it made her wonder. If tensing his muscles could cause this much damage, then…

Just how strong was he?

* * *

Orochimaru eyed the jinchuriki very carefully. He really did overestimate this one. And not just in the matter of power. This one was clearly toying with him as well. Menma wanted to make him suffer. It was clearly a demonic feat to watch as mortals do everything to avoid death due to how fragile they really are. He had to think over his next move. He couldn't take the risk the creature knows how to kill him by now.

"It's time to end this, worm!" Menma said, raising and curling his tails above himself. Orochimaru's eyes widened when he felt a slight change in his opponent's chakra. He saw it. Multiple small orbs of light. No, that was no light. It was chakra. Some were blue, while some were red. And all of them were gathering before Menma's face, as if there was a dome made of the jinchuriki's tails. Orochimaru jumped backwards, taking a lot of distance from him.

'_Thiss isss dangerouss._' he thought, seeing as the orbs created one, purple black ball of chakra. Then it seemed to degrees in size. '_If I get hit with thissss one, I may actually die…_'

His thoughts stopped when he saw something most unusual. He had expected the jinchuriki to use that ball for an attack. No matter how ridicule it would be. But what just happened honestly surprised him.

Menma caught all that chakra into his mouth. The second later it looked as if his mass grew a tenfold. Orochimaru smiled at the sight. How was the jinchuriki going to fight now? The answer came in the form of all four tails of the humanoid striking the ground. It looked as if the beast was preparing for a backslash. The serpentine man eyed the jinchuriki carefully, when then the flames appeared at the base of its tails, slowly progressing along the spine, with the red electrical charges from the arms. The man's eyes widened in realization. So the jinchuriki was able to use THAT power. He quickly his both his thumbs and slammed his hands to the ground. "Summoning: Triple Rashoumon!" he shouted. And three giant gates, with monstrous faces painted on them, appeared before the Sound leader.

And just in time.

"Tailed Beast Blast!" Menma shouted, shooting a projectile out of his mouth. As it was on its way towards the ninja, the jinchuriki wrapped himself with his tails. And in moments there was…

An explosion.

* * *

The detonation was so strong even the three by the ones by the bridge had trouble standing. The only reason they fell was to avoid all the junk flying with the shockwave. Sakura saw even less of the bridge than there was before. If Menma was to actually beat Orochimaru, then what hope did the Leaf have?

Even Kabuto couldn't help but think about the power Menma was willing to take from the Fox. If he was to actually control them though… No! That would never happen, fortunately.

* * *

Sai and Clone Yamato looked at the crater. It was now something different. There was no sign of the rashoumon ever present. Only flames and a pair of legs coming out of the ground. Menma jumped up closer and eyed the place, before grabbing one of the legs. Now there was no escape. Orochimaru was at his mercy. Menma's smile grew ever sinister, as his claws began to blaze and grow. He would make this mortal beg for death he used to fear so much. He pulled him out…

There was no torso.

Before he could think about it, the Kusanagi blade came out of the ground, hitting the jinchuriki in the chest. It was a direct hit. And it didn't stop there. It kept pushing, making the jinchuriki fly. Orochimaru's head popped out of the dirt, as he cried, wanting nothing more than to make the brat pay for the last attack. He kept pushing until the jinchuriki hit the cliff side just a few feet away from the remnants of the bridge. The crash alerted the present three, disturbing them all. What was actually happening? Team 7 saw only the blade impaling the monstrous humanoid, that started to cry in pain. It was horrible. The creature was going to die on their very eyes.

"Looks like this is the end of the road for Naruto." Kabuto commented, having recognized the beast. "Looks like Lord Orochimaru was superior after all." He smirked.

Sakura looked at the beast… no, at Naruto with sad eyes. This is the power he was cursed him? Was THIS what the villagers viewed him for? Or was this what they feared he'd become? Her heart ached her to see him like this. As a beast. She felt hatred from her blond teammate.

A laughter filled the air. A maniacal laughter of pure insanity. The laugh only Menma was known for. Yes, he was alive. More than alive- uninjured. As Orochimaru took a closer look, he found that the blade could not pierce through the chakra-fused skin of the jinchuriki. This shocked him greatly. He never though there was anything, aside for the adamantine staff of the monkey summon, that could block the all-cutting blade of Kusanagi.

Menma grabbed the blade in his hand and moved it from his chest. "Pathetic. Even with the blade, you still fail to prove to have anything for the Uchiha to surpass. You sicken us!" he roared, shoving the blade aside. Kabuto, Sakura and Yamato barely managed to dodge the blade, while the Sound leader was having difficulty to stay still. Meanwhile Menma got out from the crater and jumped onto the boulder at the edge of the canyon, watching Orochimaru. But soon he registered the presence of others. He looked at the three with the look of none-interest. After all, what were they? Insects. He noticed Kabuto's smirk, knowing he was up to something. "Whatever you're thinking, Fraud, I'd better be worth the next five seconds, cause they'll be your last." He threatened the silver haired man, letting him know how serious he was. Kabuto lost his smirk under the sensation of fear. Not even he could overcome the primal fear.

No human could.

Sakura moved in. Tears filled her eyes. She could not bear it. Naruto did NOTHING to be like this. She had to help him. For years, ever since becoming a kunoichi, she used to stay back and let others do the job, while she watched. She did nothing to help stop Sasuke and, what's worse, she blamed Naruto for failing the mission. She used to look down at him even when he pushed himself to become stronger. Even after he lost his sister she did nothing to comfort him. But no more. It was about time she did something.

"NARUTO! STOP! ENOUGH ALREADY! PLEASE…! STOP IT!" She cried. She hoped he would hear the honesty in her voice. Because she was honest. She really wanted him to stop it. She wanted him back the way he used to be.

But what she got was not what she expected.

"YOU!" Menma glared at her. Then he grabbed his chest, as if there was a wound. Sakura wondered for a minute why he did that. "We still remember that day. When you almost KILLED US!" He roared. That's when she remembered. A year before they became genin, when he asked her out, Sakura got so enraged she threw a kunai at him. As Naruto managed to survive, his feelings for her died.

Although, in Menma's case, a crush was replaced by hatred.

"Allow us to return the FAVOUR, STUPID MORTAL!" Menma aimed one of the tails at her and shot. He aimed for her heart, but pierced her shoulder. All because of an branch pushing her aside. Before the jinchuriki could react, Yamato called forth more branches, immobilizing him. Menma struggle a little to free himself. Though the team captain knew he needed to wrap some more for safety. "You really think this will hold us, insect?"

Yamato took his eyes off of Menma and looked at Kabuto, who, to his surprise, was healing Sakura. What was all that about?

"Consider this a thank you for taking care of at least one Akatsuki member." Kabuto explained. But that would mean the Akatsuki were Orochimaru's enemies too. What was it about them that the fallen of the Three left them? "Anyway, if you happen to run into more, be polite enough as to eliminate them. Well, I have to go. My master awaits." And Kabuto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Yamato wanted to move after him. Especially since he got info from his clone on Sai making contact with Orochimaru. But he needed to deal with one psychopathic jinchuriki first.

The branches just broke.

"I'LL KILL YOU AAAAALLLLLLL!"

Just as Menma dashed at Sakura with his claws, Yamato's hand started to glow. "Hokage Style: Soul Purification Touch of Divine Judgment!" he called, managing to touch Menma where he knew the blond had his necklace. The claws stopped just a fraction of inch before Sakura. The humanoid started to cry in pain, as the red chakra started to disappear. Yamato wondered if it was a good idea. Judging by the limbs alone, it looked like the chakra was the only thing keeping Naruto alive. If he suppresses this chakra now, there will be only corpse. Luckily, his regeneration kicked in, quickly restoring enough flesh to keep the young man alive.

Sakura opened her eyes to see Naruto missing his skin and some torn muscles. But what actually frightened her was the blonde's left arm.

It was demonic in appearance.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Omake**

**Team 12 mission report 01**

Team 12 approached another one of the caves in search of the daimyo's son, who got kidnapped by a band of rogue ninja.

"Your highness?" Ganju shouted. "Are you in there?"

In the cave, a young man, wearing a fine set of clothing, was tied up and pressed to the floor by a large man. The man was the last of the band. And he was in no way going to reveal himself.

"Be quiet, maggot." He ordered. "Just one word, and I'll pull your eyes out. Then you'll crawl like a maggot." He suddenly laughed at that, even though anyone else would find the joke stupid. "That'" a good one! I'm a genius… Oh s**t! You think they heard me?" he asked his prisoner. But instead of the gagged man, it was a huge ball of explosive notes that answered the question.

Outside the cave, Team 12 awaited for detonation.

"Kuro-sensei? What if daimyo's son is in there?" Anko asked.

"Shut up, fool!" Kuromaru shut her. "If he were there, the idiot would use him as a bargaining chip." The man explained, just as an explosion took place. The whole team smiled.

Until… "YOU IDIOTS! I'M IN HERE!" They heard the young man's voice.

"Bummer." Ryu shortly commented.

**Omake end**


	11. Chapter 10 The chase

**Chapter 10**

**The chase**

* * *

"_No matter how long the road, the prize is the true value of its worth_"- Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage

* * *

Seeing how slowly the skin was regenerating, Sakura was having doubts. In the past her teammate's body could heal nearly in an instant even when he lost consciousness. But now it was going so slow. She looked at him, to find him gritting his teeth, as if suffering great pain. But one he was far too familiar with. While being able to endure pain is considered a good thing, a great feat, it was sad in Naruto's case, given what kind of life he had in the Leaf. She focused her eyes once more on his left arm, which was inhuman in appearance. No matter how hard she tried, the limb would not turn anymore human. Was this the effect of the Nine-tails' chakra? Or was it like this for far longer? And what if he was turn completely?

She looked back at Yamato, who was eyeing the blond with concern. Whatever that jutsu earlier was, it helped stop Naruto. "Captain Yamato." Sakura caught his attention. "That jutsu you used to get Naruto back… Please teach me."

The wood style user looked at the pink haired medic ninja, analyzing her expression and eyes. He knew what she was after. The girl's voice was filled with guilt and despair. She wanted to be of more help. Being a medic on the team, one taught by Tsunade herself, didn't seem to be enough.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. That's impossible." Yamato replied, earning a sad look from the young woman. "The thing is… Wood style isn't my natural ability. I was fused with Lord First's cells and, as the only one compatible with them, am able to access it. Still… my powers are nowhere near as strong as his. Plus the necklace around Naruto's neck- it serves both as a magnifier and the conduit in my case, allowing my wood style to be sufficient to suppress the Fox. Without it, I would not be able to stop the beast." Yamato explained, looking at the necklace. It must've been destiny that it was given to the young Uzumaki years back, when the boy saved her from Orochimaru's right-hand-man.

Sakura's eyes filled with tears, which were dripping onto Naruto's now recovered chest. "It's… always the same" she managed to say in her sadness. "All I ever do hurt him by being unfair. And… Just when I… try to… to do something to help… It's always something small."

Yamato smiled at Sakura, seeing how much she wanted to support her teammate. "It's not whether it's big or small what you do. It's a matter of how honest you are about it." Yamato said, confusing the young girl of the Haruno family.

Before anyone could say anything, they heard a groaning sound. The two turned their eyes to Naruto, who's finally awaken. As he lifted himself to the sitting position, he caught his head in pain. Sakura smiled seeing he was feeling better.

"Naruto. You're alright." She said happily, yet quietly. She wasn't certain if she wouldn't sound too loud for him. The blond looked at her with the corner of one eye he opened.

"W-what happened?" he asked, finally looking around. "Last thing I remember is Captain Yamato giving the signal to come out and… and, uh…" he was lost in words. No, he couldn't remember anything. That or the memories were too clouded for him to recall. Still judging by the expression on his face, he was onto the idea what had transpired here. "I lost it, didn't I?"

"You were addressing yourself as Menma and went on a rampage, yes." Yamato cleared it.

Naruto just snorted. "So he did manage to take control, huh?" the jinchuriki stood up with some difficulty. "I didn't think just seeing Orochimaru or Kabuto would affect me that much."

"You mean to tell me you knew about this?" Sakura asked him harshly, ready to punch him. Naruto raised his hands in defense, sweating madly.

"Well… not exactly. He can't take over if I'm prepared mentally."

"You idiot!" the kunoichi punched him hard. "You think that's enough of an excuse?!"

"Let it go, Sakura." Yamato ordered, restraining her arms. "Even if we were to know earlier, there was no quarantine we'd manage to keep Menma in check."

"Besides…" Naruto started, rubbing his head, "I thought granny had already told you about this… 'discomfort' of mine, since he's linked to the Nine-tails."

Sakura wanted to say something. However, to the blonde's surprise, she had no words for it. From what Naruto said it means that Tsunade knew about this. But why would she keep this to herself? Did she not trust her with this? Maybe she thought that Naruto should tell them about it? Or maybe there was some other reason? One that she couldn't come up with. Then she looked at Uzumaki's hand. Naruto saw where she was looking and covered his arm, growling. "Naruto. Let me finish healing your arm." The pink haired girl said.

"It's fine." Naruto said with a dark tone.

"But it's still not healed. Let me…"

"I SAID LEAVE IT!" Naruto roared at her, releasing some killer intend on her. It took him a moment to calm down before he continued. "It's too late. Three years too late." He said with a rather annoyed tone.

"But… what happened?" She asked. She expected the blond to try and act tough, which was why she got ready to punch him. However, the sorrow look in his eyes told her far more than she'd expect.

"A reminder… of my failure." He said, turning to face Yamato. "Will you give the order to move out or are we going to discuss my physical appearance?"

Yamato collected himself like a kid who was daydreaming and just got awoken. "Ahh… yes. Team, let's move!" he ordered. And Team 7 moved out.

* * *

The three ninja dashed through the fields of emerald and bronze flora at full speed. The pale skinned young man looked at the serpent like rogue ninja leading them, expecting an attack. His master, Danzo, warned him of Orochimaru's ways. The fact he survived back there was only because of the letter he passed. Clearly, it was enough for Orochimaru to let the youngest of the group to live- for now. But now he was Orochimaru's. his life could be ended at any moment by this man's hand. Sai had no choice. He had to cooperate. Then there was Kabuto, the right-hand-man, who was watching him very closely. This man, no doubt, could kill him with little effort. And it would be hard to make him give an opening. Still, Naruto, or Menma, was able to beat him with no effort at all. This could prove both useful as well as troublesome in the long term plans of his master. At the very least, he should earn Orochimaru's trust. And he knew just the trick.

"Lord Orochimaru." Sai said, getting the said man's attention. "We're being followed."

"I know." Orochimaru replied, shocking the Root agent. As he turned around, he saw an explosion. If he was to be a little closer, he would find the place of detonation to be filled with scorching wood. Clone Yamato was taken down.

* * *

And the original felt it. He stopped and looked as if trying to recollect his thoughts. Sakura seemed concerned. But Naruto, being perceptive, knew there was something more than just a headache.

"Captain?" the blond asked. Wood style user turned to face them after his expression softened.

"My wood clone… It has been find out." He explained. "We have no way of tracking them now."

"How are we going to track them now?" Sakura asked.

"They're heading west." Naruto said, getting their attention.

"Naruto, how would you know?" the kunoichi asked in disbelieve.

"I may not have Kiba's nose or the Hyuga's byakugan. But during my travels I learn about tracking." He explained, pointing at the spot where the grass was strangely bended. "There are surprisingly many way to track the enemy without some chakra enhancement. Bended grass. Broken branches or twigs. Trials in the sand. Even hair. You just gotta look carefully. It's just telling how far ahead they are that's hard."

Yamato approached the track and analyzed it for a while, as Sakura was eyeing her teammate. Surely enough, Naruto did grow a lot. He was definitely a better ninja than her. And it was rather annoying. Naruto was usually rather goofy and stupid when they were kids. Now, when he was using his brain more often, it made her feel useless again. But this was not the time for this. She shook her head. They needed to track Orochimaru and his two companions to find Sasuke. So she had nothing to complain about.

"They're about 5 km away from us at best." Yamato stated. "Great work, Naruto. Let's move." He ordered. And the team dashed.

It was a long journey. On multiple occasions they were guessing their directions. Fortunately, they found it. Orochimaru's hideout. And judging from the footprints they entered not so long ago. Now they only needed to enter. The team looked at each other. Then everyone looked at Yamato, who snapped his fingers. He put his finger into the soil and focused his chakra. There, in the earth, his finger turned to root, that dug deeper and deeper. It grew until it made a hole into the hallway of the hideout. It was a time consuming process, as they needed to ensure they would not be heard. Luckily, they got in with no one alerted. Immediately, Yamato sensed one of their targets. And fortune seemed to be on their side. The first door they opened was to Sai's room.

"Looks like we got ourselves a traitor." Naruto commented, as Yamato subdued the renegade ninja. Naruto approached him calmly and stared him into his dark eyes. "Now then, how about some explanation? Why did you abandon us for the serpent pedophile?"

Sai didn't seem intimidated at all. Yet he had no reason to keep this to himself. "Because there are two objectives in my mission." He started. "First one being spying on Orochimaru. I am to report everything to Lord Danzo using my ink jutsu."

"You would write down everything you've learned and then use that ink beast whatever to turn the text into an animal. Then it would sneak out of here, get to the village and turn back into the text for Danzo to read. Am I correct?" Yamato asked. As Sai nodded, the team captain continued. "What about the second objective?"

"Simple. Assassinate someone. The question is who? Orochimaru is out of the question since he may prove useful in a long run. Kabuto I more of the serpent's personal nurse…" Naruto started to think. As the thought about the third person crossed his mind, Sakura appeared to think the same. And she punched the pale man.

"You will not touch Sasuke!" she said with a dreadful tone.

"He is a danger to the village ever since he abandoned it. He must be dealt with." Sai said bluntly. Sakura balled her fists and got ready to punch him. How dared he say this about the Uchiha. But before she got to hit him, Naruto got to him first. He sent Sai flying into the wall. The cracks appeared and a small stream of blood escaped the man's lips. Naruto clearly did not hold back. The blond caught him by the throat before Sai could hit the floor and pressed him against the wall.

"That is NO excuse!" he growled from between his teeth, as his eyes blazed with yellow, chirping light. The Uzumaki turned to the team captain. "Tie him up and gag him!" he said with the tone of both authority and thread. Yamato did as he was told. But before he could gag him…

"Why do you even bother trying to save him?" Sai asked. "Did he not try to kill you? Besides, Orochimaru will never let you get him away from his side. He'll crush you."

Naruto just turned to face him. What Sai saw in these deep blue eyes was some kind of strength he's never seen before. Power. Confidence. Loyalty? "Let him try." Naruto said. "He may crush my bones. He may shred my flesh. He may torture me all he wants. But as long as I can draw a breath, I won't give up. As for Sasuke… well, it's pretty much the same. As long as there's hope, I will chase after him. I will get him back to the Leaf or die trying." Then he left. And Sai laid in his chamber tied up. What was this strange feeling?

* * *

Team 7 decided not to spread out. It was safer in the group. While they could cover more ground separately, it was safer to stay together. And so, together they entered the huge chamber. It was really big, with a statue of a snake, serving as a great torch. As they walked in deeper, they sensed something strange. A presence, a dark one at that. As they kept eyeing the place, they notice a lone figure at the base of the statue. A figure came out of the darkness. He wore a long, sleeveless, dark grey cloak over a white, unzipped shirt with a turtle neck and navy blue pants. He was resting his right arm on the blade tied to his hips. As the group took a better look, they recognized the figure more.

"Sasuke." Sakura whispered.

Naruto analyzed him. Hitashi really did patch him up. Sasuke's left eye was also blazing with the sharingan's fearful red. And his left arm seemed unscratched. Sakura, however, did not know about this until now.

"What happened to you, Sasuke?" she asked, seeing some scars on his arm and two small ones around his eye.

"Why don't you ask Naruto?" he answered. "He's the one who did this to me."

"Naruto?" she growled at him, releasing some killer intend. Strangely, Naruto seemed to ignore her.

"You know it wasn't me, brother." The blond said, walking towards him.

"From what I could tell, you went berserk. As if you were suffering a split personality." Sasuke commented, suddenly standing next to Naruto. The two remained quiet for a time. No one moved a muscle. The Uchiha smiled. "You grew." He commented, noticing he was slightly shorter than the blond. Though he was more likely commenting on the fact that Naruto was more bulky, while Sasuke was slim. "That will make it easier for me to hit you." He drew his blade, ready to use it. "I remember all these times you used to listen to me, Naruto. Remember how I told you how I wished father would see me for me instead of Itachi?"

"He always compared you two." Naruto answered. "I would always say: Your father should write your names on your foreheads if he can't tell which one is which."

Sasuke chuckled a little. Then he pointed his blade at his friend. "Too bad. This is where our paths separate, brother." He tried to stab the blond. To end his life. The blade move at such speed no one would block it.

Or would they? The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed throughout the complex. To everyone's shock, it was Sai who blocked the blade.

"You are my replacement?" Sasuke asked the newcomer.

"I am here because I am curious about this bond you two share." Sai commented.

"Then you will taste it." Sasuke said in a dangerous tone… And attacked.

Yamato tried to bind him. But he was quickly caught in a genjutsu. Sakura charged in, wanting to stop them. Sasuke swung his blade, only to have Sai block him again. "Chidori Current!" he called, as the electrical charge spread thoughout the chamber, electrocuting everyone. Everyone beside Naruto, who strangely enough endured it. Sasuke charged at him.

"Gotta use it." He whispered to himself. And his body started to change, surprising the Uchiha. As the electrical charge ran through the Uzumaki's body, his arms became even more muscular, covered in veins. And his eyes- they were dark blue completely, along with the sclera. And the pupils turned into six, yellow point, connected with electrical discharge. He easily dodged the blade and slapped Sasuke in the face, sending him flying a little.

"What is this, Naruto?" Sasuke asked. "Some new stupid trick?"

"This is my heritage, Sasuke. I call it Raiju Keitai _(thunder beast form)_" Naruto answered, ready to attack. He ran through a sequence of hand-seals, when pain struck him. He did not expect this. The influence of the Nine-tails' chakra still didn't allow him to use Raijin's power? It would seem so. The god and the demon were like fire and ice. So apparently there was still a lot of the Fox's chakra in his body, making it painful to use the godly power. Sasuke seemed to take the chance. He looked into the blonde's eyes…

Contact.

* * *

_A dark sewer. Water everywhere. Water dripping. This was the mindscape. Sasuke looked towards a big bubble talking to Naruto, trying to convince him to take some of its power to win this fight. Naruto seemed ready to take the offer, But the Uchiha would not have it._

"_So this is the source of your power?" Sasuke asked. "No wonder you had such a messed up life, idiot. You really are a monster."_

"_I see." The Nine-tails said, after it recovered from the shock of seeing the brunette before him. Your sharingan managed to develop to this level."_

"_So you're the Nine-tails. I'm not impressed." Sasuke commented._

"_Your eyes… they're so wicked. And that chakra… even more sinister than mine. You remind me of him- Uchiha Madara." The beast said, as it blew up. Sasuke did not seem touched._

"_Never heard of him."_

"_WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, PRINCE?" another voice came. As the brunette and the blond turned, Menma appeared. "Get out of OUR KINGDOM!" he charged at the Uchiha, ready to kill him this time. Sasuke just disappeared and reappeared elsewhere. He was not intimidated. And yet he underestimated the newcomer. Menma managed to punch him straight in the gut. "Surprised, Prince. Don't be. After all, this is still our mind. Meaning, that we are the god here, while you will always be just a speck of dust." Menma commented, ready to rip off Sasuke's head, when the Uchiha kicked him away and disappeared, hearing only the Fox's voice._

"_Don't kill… Naruto. You… will only… regret it…"_

* * *

The two jumped up, as if they just awoke from a nightmare. They eyed each other, ready for another round, when…

"Now, now, Sssasuke. Don't waste your energy." Orochimaru said, appearing behind Sasuke. Then he eyed Naruto. "You're not at full ssstrength. Yet… you were able to sssurvive thissss long. I am impressssssed. Oh, well. Come Sssassuke. Let'ss go elsewhere."

The two formed a ram seal and where disappearing in fire, when…

"Sasuke!" Naruto roared. "Are you really willing to give up your body if it means getting your revenge? Trust me- it's not worth it. Revenge itself, Sasuke, is not worth the price. Just like this deal, it a delusion! SASUKE!"

"Naruto. You know nothing. Revenge is the only thing left for me. If I can it, I will sell my own soul for it. That must be." Sasuke answered, disappearing. Naruto shook his head slightly in disbelieve. The way Sasuke said that… It was not of someone thinking straight. The answer was just something to say something. The blond punched the ground with incredible force, making the chamber tremble. Even now, he failed.

"It's alright, Naruto." Sakura's calming voice spoke to him. He looked at her. She was still after answers for what he did to Sasuke, but right now they had to deal with another lost chance of getting him back.

But they will get him back to the village one day. They will.

**End**

* * *

**A.N.: Sorry for the late update. I was feeling a little down lately. Still feel a bit. I fell the power coming back. Stay tuned for the next chapters.**


	12. Chapter 11 The growth

**Chapter 11**

**The growth**

* * *

"_Teachers may teach us the skills. Friends may keep us in shape. Enemies may test us. But time and experience are the true measure of fighters level._"- Nekokage Kuromaru

* * *

Ten days past since the encounter with Sasuke in one of Orochimaru's hideouts. When Tsunade heard the mission report, she could tell that Sakura and Naruto were feeling down. And she understood it well. After all, they have found their old teammate after so many years, and now they lost him again. What pained them most was him siding with Orochimaru. Could he not understand that the former Leaf ninja was just using him? Or did Orochimaru manage to poison his mind that much? Either way, the mission was a failure. She would expect them to be blue. But she was wrong, big time. They were even more determined. They were going to get stronger in order to bring him back. Tsunade was glad to see that. And a bit confused when Sakura punched Naruto in the head when they were leaving.

Naruto was making his way to his favorite spot. The one where he prepared for his fight against Neji during the Chunin Exams. He wondered if that spot was still vacant. He wouldn't be surprised if someone had actually found it during his absence. Surely many genin or academy students wondered the forest in their free time. Someone was bound to find it. Weren't they?

His train of thoughts seized when he sensed something being very wrong. He simply raised his right arm and… something hit it. Naruto had no need to tell what hit his fist.

"Hi, Kiba." He said with in a bored manner. He looked down to face the Inuzuka clan member, who was holding his face in pain, as another figure, the hooded one, approached. Naruto looked up to find Shino approaching along with a very tall and slim person following him. The said person had black hair long enough to reach the base of the neck, though his head was shaved on the left side, exposing the seal-like tattoos on his face. "Ganju?" the blond asked.

"Hey, Naruto. Whazzup, man?" the tall man greeted him, fixing his white coat.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking. And you." Naruto asked.

"I'm working for the Special Project Bureau. And boy it's just what I like. I get to do research every day. Too bad I don't get any people to experiment on. Lady Hokage just won't let Ibiki give me those whose lives are already damned."

Naruto sweat dropped at the guys complain. He was still a mad scientist. He wanted to ask something else, when he felt the need to sidestep. As he did, a familiar shade of purple flew pass him and hit the ground, hard. "You never change, do you, Anko?"

"Nope. She'll always stay a number one hyperactive kunoichi." Ganju commented, earning himself a slap to the back of the head.

"Honestly, you're all grown up, Anko, and yet you tackle Naruto here like you used to back in your child days." Shino commented.

In response, the Mitarashi woman jumped onto the blond, hugging him tightly. "Oh, I just can't help it. Naru just makes me wanna pet him and all."

"Naruto?" a new voice got everyone's attention. When they turned around, they found a teen with spiky brown hair and a long, blue scarf staring at Naruto. The blond recognized the young man immediately.

"Konohamaru." He smiled, giving the young Sarutobi a high five. "Look at you. You're no longer a squirt I remember stalking through the streets."

"You bet I've grown. I am the best Leaf ninja there is." the teen smiled.

"And yet you're the only one not to be promoted chunin yet." Ganju commented, making Konohamaru glare at him.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Konohamaru shouted in fury, making a ram seal and quickly building up chakra. Then there was a small explosion of white smoke, from with a beautiful, naked woman came out, blinking at the tall man. "Take that. Sexy Jutsu!" 'she' said with a sweet voice. The tall man bended backwards, until his head hit the ground, turning his nose into a geyser. Then Konohamaru broke the jutsu. "Did you see that, Boss. I've mastered your creation."

Naruto said looked bored. And turned around, making his way. "Seen it. Done that." The young Sarutobi fell to the ground in disbelief. This sure was the running gag of theirs. As the teen was to comment on it, Naruto turned to face him with his eyes blazing. "Besides, THIS JUTSU IS A MERE CHILDPLAY! SO WHAT IF YOU MASTERED IT, IF YOU HAVEN'T TRIED TO IMPROVE IT?!" he yelled with determination.

And before he noticed, he, Konohamaru and Ganju got beaten up by passing Sakura. "We're sorry." They all said.

"You perverts. All of you should be ashamed." Sakura commented, As Tsunade joined the group.

Then Anko looked at the pink haired kunoichi with a disbelieving look. "That's a weird thing to say. You did seem more then pleased to see the male version the pipsqueak pulled last month." She commented, revering back to the incident by the hot spring. Konohamaru was about to get beaten due to some misunderstanding, when he transformed into a nude Sasuke. Sure enough, Sakura fainted with a face as red as a tomato and smiling like mad.

She blushed and tried to look professional now. "W-what are you talking about? I would never fall for such a childish trick."

"Oh, really?" Konohamaru asked, daring her. "Then you won't let me use the improved version of that jutsu?" he asked, perking Sakura's interest.

"MACHO VERSION?" She asked, clearly wanting to see it. Tsunade just face palmed.

"Sexy Jutsu: Macho Version!" Konohamaru shouted, transforming into… Gai with Jiraiya and Orochimaru's features, wearing nothing but a towel. No need to tell how everyone reacted to the sight. Although, Sakura clearly suffered an absolute mental destruction. After Konohamaru dispelled the jutsu, the village leader made her presence known.

"Sorry to interrupt this… whatever you're doing, but I have a message for Naruto." Tsunade said, eyeing the blond. "I'd like you at the training ground 7 tomorrow at 900 hours. Clear?"

"Um… crystal." Naruto answered, confused. But as he expected Tsunade to either hit him or tell him what was this about, she simply vanished. And he just stood there, wondering if he perhaps just did something to get on Tsunade's bad side.

"Interesting. Perhaps I'll get some samples while she's tearing you apart, Naruto." Ganju wondered, making everyone sweat drop.

* * *

**The next day**

The field was just as he remembered. Even the three posts in the middle seemed unfazed by time. Naruto felt nostalgic. To think it has been nearly seven years since he graduated from the ninja academy. He returned to reality when he saw Kakashi appear along with Lee, Neji and Kiba.

"Yo!" the silver haired jonin saluted.

"For once you're on time, Kakashi." Naruto commented. The fact he did not address him 'sensei' didn't escape Kakashi's notice. Apparently, Naruto still wasn't over what happened after Sasuke's defection 'til their fight a year after. Kakashi was upset about it, but understood it. After all, who wouldn't lose their trust in their sensei after that? So here was his chance to fix it.

"Well, I was on my way here, but there was little old lady who needed help carrying the groceries. So asked Sakura to do it for me." He excused himself.

"LIAR!" Naruto shouted with a smile, glad that the man at least was on time. "Seriously though, what's this about? Why'd you call me?"

"Well, I heard from Lady Tsunade and Sakura about your mission." Kakashi started, scratching his cheek. "So I thought I'll help you train."

At that, the blond looked at the jonin skeptically. "Why?" he growled. "You weren't there when I really needed you. If were to actually train the team properly, instead of focusing just on Sasuke, perhaps I would've been able to at least slow him down enough for you to stop him. Instead, you left me and Sakura in favor for Sasuke. Then, at the Spine of the Ancient, you looked down at me, as if the pain of losing my sister was just. The only reason I was even able to beat you then was because Pervy-sage taught me and you underestimated me. Why should I trust you after all that, Copy-ninja?!" he nearly shouted out the last sentence. Kakashi looked down in shame. He knew that Naruto pointed out the truth. His failures.

"Naruto, your anger towards me is more than just. And no matter what I say is likely nothing convincing enough for you. So I'm not going to say anything about the council pushing me to train Sasuke, or how upset I was for losing him. I admit I failed as your sensei. But I failed as my sensei's student the most." Hearing Kakashi say that perked Naruto's curiosity. He turned to face the jonin. "Sensei taught me how important comrades are. Though it was my teammate, from whom I got the sharingan, who made me understand what it really means to be comrades. And your father taught me how trust can be easily shattered after the death of my other teammate. I failed you, your father and my sensei when I said I'll go with the council's wishes, just to get them off my back. I failed, because I ended up going with their wishes. I cannot say you should trust me. Nor do I expect you will take this training as a way to trust me. But I ask you, Naruto… Will you give me a chance to undo my mistake? Will you let me train you and, hopefully, make up what I can for these six years lost?"

Naruto stared at the jonin. He stared at him for a good long while. What Kakashi said to him seemed shocking. The only reaction the jonin got from the blond afterwards was a growl. An angry growl, clearly letting him know that Naruto found his words insulting. As he thought about it, he was right. Now that Naruto travelled the world and learned many things, which made him a stronger ninja, how dared he come with this? Actually, how dare he come with this when he just wants to get on Naruto's good side? The jonin's head dropped in shame.

Then he felt something hit his head. As took a look, it was a pebble. He looked at Naruto, who was smiling at him.

"If you want my forgiveness, you'll have to beat me." He said taking his stance. Kakashi just eye-smiled.

"Well… I did had a spar in mind for starters. Though, these guys pressed me to have a rematch with you." He said, pointing at the three. Naruto eyed them all.

"Bring it." He challenged them.

As he said that, Kiba dashed forward, while Akamaru transformed into him. The duo decided to go first. "I've been waiting for this a long time, Naruto. This time, I'm taking you down."

He tried to punch the blond, who simply sidestepped. Then Akamaru tried to kick him in the gut. But Naruto jumped away from them, swirling in the air. From what Kakashi could tell, this wasn't any taijutsu stance taught in the academy. But he recognized the way Naruto moved. His sister taught it to him. And it belonged to… **him**. The Inuzuka and his partner performed the Piercing Fang, hoping to get him with speed. And they were really close. Naruto had to perform substitution every single time to avoid them. By the time they 're preparing for another try, Neji took his chance and attacked the blond. Naruto really had it though with him. The Hyuga prodigy was accurate with every blow. Uzumaki parried or blocked every incoming hit, but couldn't counter. And he could tell that Neji was trying to make him dodge to force an opening. Finally, Neji stepped back, as Lee jumped in, delivering a strong flying kick. Despite being able to block it, Naruto still was send flying. As he struggled to stop and find his footing, Kiba and Akamaru hit him. Naruto hit the tree 50 feet away with a thud. He was on his knees for a short while, aching, before he collected himself and rose back on his feet, only to parry another relentless assault from Neji and Lee. Lee was stronger and faster, while the Hyuga was accurate. Then there were Kiba and Akamaru, who were ruthless. Naruto was completely on the defense. And just when he saw an opening, he got hit. The blond just didn't seem to keep up. Well, that was the point. Within the Leaf 13, Kiba, Neji and Lee were the most destructive trio. There was not a single ninja who could match these three. Even Kakashi had to admit he would've been in a rough situation if he was to fight them. And now, Naruto was being destroyed before his very eye. After another blow to the face from Gai's double, Naruto hit the ground, completely bruised and breathing heavily. It would appear he reached his limit.

"I have to admit, Naruto, fighting you is something I was looking forward to." Lee commented.

"Although it appears that we were training harder than you, deadlast. I finally got to beat you." Kiba said with pride. However Neji seemed annoyed.

"Why are you holding back?" He said, surprising the other two. "You barely even tried to do anything. You did not you any jutsu aside substitution. What was the point of this?"

Hearing this made Naruto smile. So Neji saw through him. He jumped back up on his feet and stretched himself. The sound of cracking bones echoed through the air. "I needed some warm up." He said. "But, hey, you guys really did grow strong. I actually felt those punches and kicks. I'll need to go to the hot springs after this one to relax." he blinked. Then his expression darkened as he took his stance. But now, I'll show you that I have also grown. And considering that I was actually fighting for survival every day, rather than taking missions once in a while, you guys might find my growth extreme."

As Lee and Kiba took their stances, Neji reactivated his byakugan. But as soon as he did that, he was shocked. "GUYS! TAKE YOUR DISTANCE!" he called to them.

But it was too late.

Naruto dashed forward so fast, Neji barely even noticed when he moved. But he was not the target. No. Lee got punched right in the nose and send flying. Then the blond kicked Akamaru while elbowing Kiba. Afterwards, he dashed at Neji, delivering powerful blows. Neji was able to parry and block them, delivering his own. But this time, Naruto was able to counter and strike back. The Hyuga prodigy was right- Naruto was barely even trying at the start. Neji had to admit it. Fighting Naruto now was more difficult than years back. Naruto made some distance between them, reaching for his pouch, when Kiba charged in. He was going to knock him out from behind. He could've succeeded, but Naruto farted in his face, causing the Inuzuka to suffer the unbearable of smelling the toxic cloud that was now in the air.

As Kiba was struggling for the life-giving air, the greatest gift of the gods, Naruto jumped at Neji. As the two were about to make contact, Naruto pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it into the ground, engulfing the two in the black smoke. Neji was able to see his opponent, of course. This smoke wouldn't blind the Hyuga. However, that wasn't what Naruto was counting for. With this smoke, Neji had to focus on the surrounding more, which made his attacks less accurate. The two engaged in another exchange of blows. Naruto tried to kick him, but Neji dodged, trying to hit Naruto's legs, only for the blond to jump up. While the Hyuga thought he caught him where he wanted him, Naruto caught his arms and head butted him. Then the blond tried to elbow him in the face. Neji decided to go with his defense. He performed rotation. And repelled his opponent, who proved to be a shadow clone. Neji was dumb struck. If this was the clone, where was the original? He performed rotation again, when he caught sight of the incoming kunai from the trees. As he was deflecting them, he was hit from above, the only side which worked to his disadvantage. Naruto was standing victorious over him. He wanted to move on, when both Lee and Akamaru charged at him. Naruto disappeared before them and appeared behind Lee, performing.

"Leaf's Ultimate Taijutsu: Secret Technique: 1000 Years of Pain!" he stuck his fingers in Lee's… Okay, we know what that jutsu does. As Lee disappeared, Naruto was sucker punched by Kiba, who was finally able to breathe. Then Akamaru punched him. And then both Kibas kicked him in the gut. Naruto hit the tree hard. He took a few deep breaths and looked at Kakashi, who pulled out a purple book title 'Icha Icha Warfare", saying:

"They've been bugging me for a chance to fight you again. So I said it might be good." Naruto glared at him for a moment, before dashing at Inuzuka and his transformed dog. The three were now trading blows again. Then the blond got punched in the face by Kiba. Naruto used that to rotate his body and hit him with the back of his fist. As he send Kiba to the ground, he kicked Akamaru in the gut. Then kneed hit in the face. Afterwards, he caught him by the face and hit him to the ground, hard. As Kiba saw this, he was furious. He charge at Naruto, ready to deliver a strong punch. But Naruto caught his fist without even looking at him. Then he turned to face him and kicked hit three times in the stomach. He finished his attack kicking him in the him. Kiba fell to the ground. Naruto was now panting. And there was still Rock Lee to deal with. And speaking of the devil, the taijutsu expert was about to kick him.

"Leaf Whirlwind!" he called, delivering a kick, that got barely blocked. As Naruto made his distance, Lee looked at his friends, who were out cold. Lee was shocked at first, but then he glared at the blond. "You are really strong, Naruto. Only the Enforcers, Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei were able to advance this far. But, I am glad to be the last one standing. This gives me a chance to fight you one-on-one."

"The order to take you guys out was rather good." Naruto commented, as he started to explain. "First off had to be Neji, who was not only the strongest of you three, but was also the most observant. Taking him out not only ensured you lost your strategist, but also the most dangerous member. Then it was you or Kiba and Akamaru. You are stronger when it comes to taijutsu, Lee, but Kiba has his partner. So he could take advantage of numbers. Not to mention he can perform ninjutsu. Now it's just you and me now."

Lee was a bit surprised hearing that. Naruto was able to state their position in power so fast and update what he knew about their skills. Then he went for them, starting from the greatest threat. Even Kakashi was amazed. This was quite a risky tactic, as now the blond was worn out. But the jonin had confidence in him. He was certain the jinchuriki wouldn't go for it unless he could take down Lee in the end. The taijutsu expert wasn't going to go down that easily however. He shouldn't be doing this, but he felt he had little to no choice. He opened four gates. And turned completely red. Naruto was taken back. He forgot Lee could do this, truth be told. Lee saw the surprise on the blonde's face and took it as a chance to strike. He was about to hit, when he disappeared. As Naruto tried to process what happened, he got kicked in the left side and send flying into the river. Lee got the advantage. He charged towards the river, while Naruto was getting out and delivered a strong uppercut to his jaw. This time, however, Naruto landed on the water surface. Lee decided to finish this. He charged again. And was about to hit. Naruto decided not to fool around as well.

"Raiju Keitai…" he whispered. And his body electrocuted, turning his arms more muscular. As Lee was about to hit, his punch got caught. Naruto surprised him with the sudden increase in speed and strength. Naruto raised his head. And as Lee looked him in the eyes, he felt a strange sensation. It wasn't fear, but it felt just as overwhelming. Naruto kicked him in the gut, sending him some distance away and ran through a sequence of hand seals. "Storm Style: Eight Point Circuit!" as he called, eight small orbs shot forward. Lee managed to dodge those most of them, as some didn't even reach him.

"You missed, Naruto." Lee said, not noticing the blonde's smirk.

"Didn't had to hit you directly." He said. "You're within the field." Rock Lee wondered what he meant by that, when he noticed he was surrounded by senbon-like poles. Then he got electrocuted. In the end, he was knocked out by a powerful blow, that send him flying by Kakashi. The jonin was so taken by the sight his book fell to the ground. But he quickly regained his composure and walked over to Naruto.

"I say this is over." Kakashi said. At that moment, Naruto reverted back to his original appearance. "Gotta say, Naruto, this is surprising you didn't go with this at the very start."

"I'd rather not to rely on it. Better to save things like that for when you're in a tight situation." Naruto replied.

Kakashi smiled warmly. _'He grew not only in body and skill. But also in wisdom.' _He thought to himself. "Alright then, tell me how you feel you'd do against me this time?"

Naruto rose a brow. He didn't expect this kind of question. "To be honest… hard to say. I know I'd last longer than back then. But now…"

"It's fine. I won't do any test now. You're worn out. Try to rest." Kakashi said.

"What have you planned, Kakashi." Naruto asked.

"I thought of a special training for you." He said. He could see Naruto had stars in his eyes. "We'll start tomorrow at the same place and hour." He said, disappearing. And Naruto collapsed.

"That guy just keeps annoying me." He murmured to himself.

* * *

**Elsewhere**

Nine figures were standing in the cave on the fingers of a humanoid statue. Most of them were just projections, while at least four of them were actually there. One thing for certain, they were wearing black robes with red clouds. Yes, the Akatsuki have gathered. They were gathering quite often lately. A necessity as they started their plan.

"Things are finally in motion." The shade with ripple eyes said. "The One-tail has been caught. And the Nine-tails is out of hiding. Now we can go with everything without delay. Deidara will be back into action within a few days."

"Well, I gotta HAND it to you. He is quite a HANDY man to be with." Tobi spoke. "But then again, he did need a helpful HAND. Get it?"

"Tobi. Quit joking." Leader said. "Deidara is of much more use then the likes of you. And since he's your superior, show some respect."

"Yes sir, sir! After all, Tobi is a good boy." the masked man saluted.

"Now, let us continue the operation. Kakuzu, Hidan. Your target is the Two-tails. It's jinchuriki is a Cloud ninja by the name Nii Yugito. Find her and bring her in."

Two shades bowed. "It shall be done, Leader." One of them spoke. Then all the shades disappeared.

The man with ripple eyes turned around, making his way somewhere, when he sensed something- or someone. "How long have you been here?" he asked.

"Long enough to hear you sending those two after Two tails. I thought you'd save them for Seven and Eight-tails." The newcomer said from the shadows. The Akatsuki leader just faced him.

"They will get the job done faster."

"I have no doubts about it. Still, do not just send them randomly. We should not waste them so carelessly."

"Tell me, why are you here after so many years? Where were you hiding? Are you even here, or are you just Zetsu transformed?"

The man just chuckle. "My dear boy, don't you know by now? I exist in places you cannot find. That is how I am able to contact you and only you, without others knowing of my existence."

"Yes, indeed."

"But never mind that for now. Kakuzu and Hidan are the most ruthless members… And unstoppable. You may have been right to send them after Two-tails. She is quite a… naughty kitty. I must make my leave. Inform me should anything happen." He said, vanishing like dust in the shadows.

* * *

**Hidden Leaf Village, training ground**

Naruto did some stretching while waiting for Kakashi. He was waiting for him for two straight hours. And was losing his nerve. How could it be that someone who wanted a second chance didn't seem to be serious about it. He was sitting on the pole and waiting, growing inpatient. Then finally the jonin appeared before him, surprisingly panting.

"You're late!" Naruto accused him comically.

"Sorry I'm late. Needed to drop my pants at the dry cleaner's." he answered.

"Liar!" The blond shouted. But then he chuckled. "You just never change. So what's this training all about?"

"Well, the training involves this." Kakashi said pulling out a small piece of paper. Naruto's eye twitched at the sight. This must've been a…

"ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF ME OR SOMETHING?!" he shouted, shaking the jonin like a mad man.

"Calm down, calm down. Let me explain." The Copy Ninja managed to say, convincing the blond to seize. "This is not a simple piece of paper. It's made of special wood that reacts to chakra." He explained.

"Reacts to… chakra?" Naruto was dumbfounded. Seeing his confusion, Kakashi started to explain.

"Every ninja has a specific elemental affinity in their chakra. I, for example, have lightning affinity. And most, if not all, Uchiha have fire."

"So, in other words, every ninja can perform elemental ninjutsu. But their chakra can allow them to perform some better than other." Naruto deducted.

"Correct. Now this paper will allow us to determine which element is your affinity. The mechanism is rather simple. If it burns, it's fire. If it splits- wind. Wrinkle- lightening. Dust- earth. Soak- water." He gave the paper to Naruto. "All you have to do is focus some chakra into it."

"But… isn't my affinity obvious by now. I mean… Storm Style."

"This is an advanced elemental transformation. Meaning the ability to fuse your elemental affinity chakra with other element. There are rarely ever any people with dual affinity."

Naruto nodded. He decided to skip the rest and just focus on what he had. As he channeled his chakra into the paper, it split in two.

"So… it is wind. It's rare, but expected." Kakashi commented. No take this." He pulled out an orb. "It'll let us see if you have a secondary affinity. Depending on what we'll see in it, we'll get to see the other element."

"How will that tell us?"

"Simple. This orb is made of special glass, that blocks the elemental energy. To put it in more details: Chakra is a mixture of physical spiritual energy, as you already know. However, this is NOT a pure mixture. There is up 40% of that mixture that becomes responsible for the elemental affinity. Don't ask how that works. However, for those with dual elemental affinity, that balance is different, as 30% of it is one element, and 20% the other."

"And the rest is pure chakra." Naruto finished. "So this orb will block that 30 %, yes?" As he saw the jonin nod, Naruto focused on the orb. After a minute or so, something started happening. The orb was filled with electricity, which soon engulfed the outside of it.

"Lightening." Kakashi whispered. "You are really an all offense type, Naruto."

"I still fail to see how're we going to train."

"This is where your greatest jutsu comes in." Naruto was confused. Kakashi sighed before answering. "The shadow clone jutsu. That's the key to your training."

"Excuse me?"

"You mean you never noticed?" Kakashi asked in disbelieve. " The shadow clone jutsu was designed to gather information. It's main feature is the ability to transfer all the experience and memory gathered back to the original upon dispelling. Don't tell me you did not notice."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Well… I think I was more focused on the fights and didn't really notice it." He answered, making Kakashi fall.

'Figures. He's still dense and a dimwit.' The jonin thought. This was going to be a long training session.

* * *

**A.N.:** Hope you're enjoying so far. 'Til next update.

* * *

**My cast:**

Uchiha Sasuke- Neil Kaplan

Sarutobi Konohamaru- J.B. Blanc


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